Lindh's letters and e-mails sharply critical of the United States

<br>Excerpts from John Walker Lindh's e-mails and letters to his family, released by the government Wednesday in a successful motion to keep him in custody: <br><br>_Sept. 23, 1998. He suggested to

Thursday, February 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Excerpts from John Walker Lindh's e-mails and letters to his family, released by the government Wednesday in a successful motion to keep him in custody:

_Sept. 23, 1998. He suggested to his mother that the ``two bombings in West Africa'' _ an apparent reference to the August 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania _ ``seem far more likely to have been carried out by the American government than by any Muslims.''

_Feb. 15, 2000. He suggested to his mother that she move to England. ``I really don't know what your big attachement (sic) to America is all about. What has America ever done for anybody?''

_June 24, 2000. Lindh tells members of his family that the United States incited the Gulf War and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was ``heavily encouraged'' by an American official to invade Kuwait.

_Fall 2000. After Lindh wrote his family about the October bombing of the USS Cole, his father, Frank, wrote his son: ``I confess I was taken aback somewhat by your lack of compassion for the Americans, who after all are only young people your own age who happened to have taken a job that involved being on a Navy ship.''

_Dec. 3, 2000. Lindh wrote his mother, referring to President Bush as ``your new president'' and added: ``I'm glad he's not mine.''

_Jan. 8, 2001. Lindh writes a family member that ``it doesn't make much difference to me whether the Western media reports on the Muslim world or not, because even if the American public knew the reality of what occurs here, they wouldn't care enough to do anything about it.''

_Feb. 8, 2001. He wrote his mother that if an Islamic state is ever established in Yemen he would like to build a house there, get married and establish his headquarters in the mountains. He states while it ``may be (a) good option'' to return to America and visit his family, ``I don't really want to see America again.''

_March 1, 2001. Lindh told his mother that he was ``busy in my studies and I have no intention of interrupting them for any reason in the near future. When I went to Yemen the first time, you demanded my return before I was able to complete my goal of learning Arabic. After returning, I wasted about 9 months in America in which I achieved nothing and forgot much of what I had learned while in Yemen.''

_April 5, 2001. ``I came here to Pakistan for a specific purpose. I don't intend to leave Pakistan until I finish what I came here for, just as I didn't leave Yemen until I finished what I went there for.''

_Undated. He wrote his family about family life in Pakistan and said it ``really makes me look upon American society with pity.''

_April 27, 2001. Lindh told his mother he was headed off to ``some cold mountainous region.''