November 9, 2001

3:31 PM

Son of NY WTC survivor turns traitorHis mom escape WTC disaster. He goes to Pakistan to become Taliban fighter. Says he is a Muslim and not an American, though he has American passport.
posted by Postroad (25 comments total)

I wish every such deluded knob would head over there asap.
posted by Tubes at 3:39 PM on November 9, 2001

He'll be back, if he's lucky enough
posted by rabbit at 3:39 PM on November 9, 2001

If he attempts to come back, which would be better: try him for treason and sedition, or send him BACK to the Taliban?
posted by Tubes at 3:41 PM on November 9, 2001

i could of sworn this was posted before.
posted by jcterminal at 3:42 PM on November 9, 2001

jcterminal, I think you are thinking of the story about the guy in Maine who decided to join the Taliban, carried a knife around, attracted the attention of the local authorities, etc., etc.
posted by gazingus at 3:48 PM on November 9, 2001

Here it is.
posted by gazingus at 3:50 PM on November 9, 2001

jcterminal, perhaps you saw it on Unknown News yesterday . . . nope, can't find it.
posted by retrofut at 3:57 PM on November 9, 2001

"Sorry Mom, you're an infidel."
posted by ilsa at 4:09 PM on November 9, 2001

jcterminal, is this what sparked your memories?
posted by Wulfgar! at 4:11 PM on November 9, 2001

"I did not feel any remorse for the Americans who died," Junaid told Britain's ITN television network.

And we won't feel any remorse for you Junaid. Have fun!
posted by Counselco at 4:49 PM on November 9, 2001

he's obviously gay.
posted by quonsar at 4:50 PM on November 9, 2001

I'm still waiting for farrakahn to head over there.
posted by rabbit at 5:29 PM on November 9, 2001

Appropriately this dweeb bought a one-way ticket. Good riddance.
posted by clevershark at 5:56 PM on November 9, 2001

Step One: Apply head forcefully to wall.
Step Two: Repeat step one.
posted by Kikkoman at 6:00 PM on November 9, 2001

So anyone with an american passport must also have an undying love for the US and all its actions?

I thinks he is perfectly within his human rights to piss on the US, fight against it, and enjoy his new life. The only real problem I see is that he's joining the "losers" and his idealism may shorten his new life substantially. An individual is not tied to a nation. This case may be an obvious stupid move, but his right to take off, dissent, and fight are entirely his.

Perhaps he off to be a martyr. I see that religious culture has a special place in their hearts for such types.
posted by skallas at 6:41 PM on November 9, 2001

I don't know how many 26-year-old Mohammad Junaid[s] are out there (and definitely not too many with a mother working in the ninth floor of the North Tower of WTC), but, if the Junaid mentioned in Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp owned The Courier-Mail is the same one mentioned in the Boston Globe, then there seems to be some inconsistencies in the story.

• Junaid, 26, who says he's the grandson of Pakistani immigrants . . . ¹
• Junaid's parents migrated from Pakistan. ²

At least the Boston Globe tried to verify the authenticity of the story:

Much of Junaid's story is impossible to confirm, because - fearful, he says, that he'd endanger family and friends - he refuses to give out details of his life, such as where he went to school and worked, or his address. He even declined to say whether the name he gave was his legal one (and checks of various New York City public records for a Mohammad Junaid produced no verifying information).¹

Has anyone seen any photo of this man? Or his TV interview with ITN mentioned in the Courier-Mail article?

If it is true, his decision is indeed idiotic, and unpatriotic.



Notes:
1. The Boston Globe [via: InstaPundit]
2. The Courier-Mail, Queensland, Australia

posted by tamim at 6:53 PM on November 9, 2001

I agree with skallas. The best part of being an American is having the freedom to believe whatever bit of stupid nonsense you want, and to follow whatever preposterous, hopeless dream moves you. More power to him.

Of course, he is choosing the other side and breaking U.S. law, so if he has a change of heart and "comes back," he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The rest of us have the right to defend OUR beliefs and dreams too.
posted by rushmc at 9:12 PM on November 9, 2001

I disagree with Skallas. Do you really have a right to kill people? It's not like he's just going to visit Afghanistan, he is clearly stating that he is going to try to kill people. I don't think the right to murder is in the bill of rights.
posted by Doug at 9:59 PM on November 9, 2001

But you can't prosecute people for a crime they haven't committed or attempted to commit. If he goes somewhere and tries to kill someone, then it will be up to whatever authorities have jurisdiction over him at the time to deal with it.
posted by rushmc at 10:56 PM on November 9, 2001

Treason. I’m 99% sure Steven Den Beste mentioned this, too.
posted by gleemax at 2:06 AM on November 10, 2001

Uh, *international. I hate making typos when I can’t fix them.
posted by gleemax at 2:07 AM on November 10, 2001

This kid is pretty stupid, in more then the obvious ways.

Obviously, he could do a lot more 'good' by staying in the US and acting as an Al Queda terrorist, flying to Afghanistan to get the-fuck-bombed-out-of doesn't really sound like an effective use of manpower, I mean, he was already in the US. No border checks for him.

Hrm, That makes me wonder. If the Taliban is able to recruit American citizens to fight and live in war-torn Afghanistan, you'd think Al-Queda would probably be able to attract people to be terrorists here, and live in relative comfort.

On the other hand, were an I an Al-Queda operative I don't know if I would really trust US 'recruits' at this point in time..
posted by delmoi at 7:26 AM on November 10, 2001

But you can't prosecute people for a crime they haven't committed or attempted to commit.

Hell yes you can! You can prosecute for conspiracy. You can prosecute for treason.
posted by kindall at 9:32 AM on November 10, 2001

Conspiracy, maybe (though I would think the legal definition of conspiracy, with which I am not familiar, would necessarily contain SOME specific overt criteria that must be met--at least, I would hope so), but treason describes behavior and acts, not thoughts. There is seditious speech, but I hardly think saying "gee, I think I'll go fight with the Taliban...you guys suck" would meet the legal definition there, either.

Certainly this guy could choose to violate any of these laws. I just don't see that he has done so yet.
posted by rushmc at 11:39 AM on November 10, 2001

Don't forget sedition -- but for that you need a conspiracy in the US anyway.

Treason; recruitment against the US; and then there's simple enlistment against the US, for which he can be jailed for three years.
posted by dhartung at 1:50 PM on November 10, 2001