Spørs om de bare er interessert i å vise den delen av videoen som viser
den amerikanske fangen. Her er det nok mange lik i skapet. Men noen
undersøkelse av mulige krigsforbrytelser i Afghanistan...?
Mvh,
Per
L.A. TIMES 12/8/01/RESPONSE TO TERROR
American Taliban Refused to Answer CIA Agents' Questions, Video Shows
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000097517dec08.story
By NORMAN KEMPSTER, TIMES STAFF WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Despite a kick in the stomach and the threat of death, John
Walker Lindh, the captured American Taliban fighter, refused to say a word
to two CIA interrogators, including Johnny "Mike" Spann--who just hours
later became the first U.S. combat fatality in Afghanistan.
In a dramatic, seven-minute videotape shot Nov. 25 by an amateur Afghan
cameraman, Spann and another agent identified only as Dave are shown trying
to question Lindh, warning him that the only way he can save his life is
to cooperate.
A few hours later, Spann himself was killed by Taliban and Al Qaeda
prisoners who rose up against their Northern Alliance captors at a prison
near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The tape was made during
the morning interrogation of some of the hundreds of Taliban and Al Qaeda
captives. Spann, 32, a former Marine officer, is shown singling out Lindh
from a row of prisoners.
"Hey, you," Spann said, according to a transcript posted on Newsweek
magazine's Web site. "Right here with your head down. Look at me. I know you
speak English. Look at me. Where did you get the British military sweater?"
When Lindh did not answer, Spann walked away, leaving the prisoner with
several Northern Alliance soldiers who tightened the ropes binding his
elbows behind him. One kicked him in the stomach.
Lindh was then forced to sit cross-legged on a blanket in the prison
courtyard, his arms still tied. Spann squatted on the blanket and tried
again: "Where are you from? . . . You believe in what you're doing here that
much, you're willing to be killed here? How were you recruited to come here?
Who brought you here?"
When Lindh remained silent, Spann snapped his fingers in front of Lindh's
face. Still no response.
The agent identified as Dave then approached Spann and Lindh. Standing where
the prisoner could easily hear their conversation, Dave told Spann: "The
problem is, he's got to decide if he wants to live or die and die here.
We're just going to leave him and he's going to . . . sit in prison for the
rest of his . . . short life. It's his decision. We can only help the guys
who want to talk to us."
After that, Spann and Dave seemed to lose interest in Lindh, who was pulled
to his feet by a Northern Alliance guard and taken back to a group of
prisoners.
The tape ends at that point. A few hours later, Taliban and Al Qaeda
prisoners began throwing hand grenades and seizing guards' rifles. By the
time the insurrection was put down, most of the prisoners were dead. Lindh
survived and is now in U.S. military custody.
In an unusual deal, ABC News and CBS News teamed up to buy exclusive
broadcast rights to the videotape....
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