'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh has penned an op-ed under the name Yahya Lindh that was published on the day the nation marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The bizarre opinion piece, published by The Intercept, does not identify the author as the notorious American who left his northern California home to fall in with the Taliban and met Osama bin Laden before the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Headlined 'The Guantánamo Bay Internment Camp Is an Unresolved Vestige of the American Occupation of Afghanistan,' the article marks his most public overture since being released from prison after serving a 17-year sentence and otherwise maintaining a very low profile.
Its publication attracted little attention online amid the 9/11 commemorations when it appeared.
Although Lindh himself notes in the article that he 'served as a Taliban infantryman in northern Afghanistan,' the bio that accompanies the story leaves out significant parts of the background of the man who gained national attention after his capture in Afghanistan along with other Afghan and foreign fighters at the outset of the U.S.-led war
The Intercept published an article Sept. 11th by John Walker Lindh, who now goes by the name Yahya Lindh
The article makes connects concerns about the Guantanamo Bay prison to the early events in the US war in Afghanistan
The article identified Lindh by his different name, but did not specify that he was the 'American Taliban' picked up with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. It calls him a 'former prisoner of war'
In it, he connects his own role in the war – fighting along the Taliban against the Northern Alliance and surviving an uprising that resulted in the death of an American CIA officer – to the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, which became a symbol to opposition to US polities in the War on Terror.
He describes these events 'due to their historical significance as well as their direct relationship to the unresolved issue of the Guantánamo Bay internment camp,' a reference to the US military prison in Cuba.
Lindh pleaded guilty to providing support to the Taliban and of carrying a rifle and a grenade and served 17 years of a 20-year sentence in federal prison.
A brief bio description, which is accompanied by an image of a bearded Lindh, states: 'Yahya Lindh is a writer, translator, and former prisoner of war. He is originally from Washington, D.C., and is currently based elsewhere in the Americas.'
An Intercept national security editor, Vanessa Gezari, tweeted about the article on Sept. 11th, when top US politicians had gathered in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon to mark the 9/11 anniversary.
'A perspective you won't read anywhere else - and an editing experience I'll never forget. By war on terror Detainee 001, now known as Yahya Lindh, who has served his time and has a critical message for America,' she wrote.
Detainee 001 is Lindh, who is the subject of a new Showtime documentary. The publication confirmed to DailyMail.com that the former John Walker Lindh is indeed the author.
Lindh also used the name in jailhouse correspondence with NBC, attaching the name Yahya Lindh to his writings on lined paper, where he called himself a political prisoner despite his guilty plea. It also appears in some court documents.
'We are in prison due to our beliefs and the practice of our religion, not for committing any crime,' he wrote in 2014, although he would later make a guilty plea in federal court.
Special forces pose with the 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh shortly after his capture in November 2001. They had written 'S*** head' on duct tape stuck to his blindfold, triggering an investigation when details emerged. The image has never been seen in public until now
Lindh converted to Islam as a teenager after seeing the film Malcolm X and went overseas to study Arabic and the Quran. He eventually traveled to Pakistan before crossing the border into Afghanistan. He was among about 400 Taliban and Al Qaeda forces who surrendered to the U.S.-allied Northern Alliance in November 2001
Pictures of the high-value prisoner were taken by members of the 5th Special Forces Group as they prepared him to be transported from Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan to Camp Rhino, near Kandahar in the south. He was the first American prisoner in the war on terror
Asked why Lindh was not more fully identified, an Intercept spokesman responded: 'The article clearly and prominently explains that the author served as a Taliban infantryman. Lindh’s bio, which is included with the article, also makes his identity clear, noting that he’s a “former prisoner of war.” Lindh has identified himself as Yahya for years, including in court documents.'
Lindh was released from prison in 2019, after serving out 17 years of his sentence in a Terre Haute, Indiana facility.
Under the terms of his probationary release, where he got three years deducted for good behavior, he was required to get permission from his probation office to gain Internet access, couldn't view extremist videos, and was required to allow his probation officer to monitor his Internet use.
Judge T.S. Ellis also ordered that Lindh couldn't leave the country without the court's permission, and that he had to undergo mental health counseling upon his release. As part of his plea deal, the government dropped charges of supporting Al Qaeda or conspiring to kill Americans, instead accepting his plea to lesser charges.
Journalist Toby Harnden flagged the article on Twitter days after it first appeared, noting that Lindh was going under a new name and had gone by multiple aliases.
'“Yahya” is Arabic for John,' he tweeted. 'He’s also used Sulayman al-Faris, Abdul Hamid, & Abu Sulayman al-Irlandi. As a teen, he used online handles Hine E. Craque, Doodoo, Disciple of the Englober, Professor J, John Doe, Brother Suleyman al-Mujahid, & Mr. Mujahid.'
Journalist Toby Harnden, who's new book First Casualty retraces some of Lindh's steps, pointed out the identity of the author
The article was published on the morning of Sept. 11th, when US leaders were marking the 20th anniversary of the attacks
A person reportedly to be "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh is seen leaving the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex early in the morning on May 23, 2019 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Lindh was released three years early for good behavior, although a judge
