an American Taliban

 John Philip Walker Lindh was apprehended in November 2001, during the American invasion of Afghanistan.

According to all accounts, John Walker Lindh had a typical upbringing. In 1981, he was born in Washington, D.C., to a troubled marriage. Lindh grew captivated with Islam after seeing Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" at some time.

Lindh had converted and gone to Yemen to study Arabic by the time she was sixteen. There, he grew frustrated with his teachers' apparent lack of faith. However, the 20-year-old later found the Taliban in 2001, which was just the kind of organisation he was seeking for.

He relocated to Afghanistan in May of that year to engage in combat with the Afghan Northern Alliance, which was supported by the US.

Lindh trained with al-Qaeda while in Afghanistan and even had a brief encounter with Osama bin Laden. And Lindh joined his new allies in combat after 9/11. He was apprehended and brought to trial in federal court in the United States in February 2002. He pleaded guilty to two charges and received a 20-year prison term.