MFC, I believe you're referring to John Walker, 20 year old who decided to join the Taliban miltary.
Heconverted to Islam when he was 16 years old.
He is described by his parents as being an introvert and a pacifist who became disillussioned with US foreign policy. They say he left the US to study in Yemen and Pakistan but they lost contact with about six months ago.
Not much else is known about John Walker.
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This an excerpt from CNN
<span> SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN (AP) - An American who fought with the Taliban was gaunt and dehydrated but in good condition Sunday as he recovered from a gunshot wound to his leg, a Marines spokesman said at the southern Afghan base where the man is being held. John Walker, 20, of Fairfax, Calif., was found holed up with Taliban fighters after northern alliance forces quelled a bloody prison uprising near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. U.S. authorities took control of him and flew him to the base. Capt. Stewart Upton described Walker's condition as good and said he is being given intravenous fluids. Citing the Geneva Conventions, Upton said Walker is not allowed to talk to reporters or photographers, but is allowed visits by the international Red Cross. Walker's presence has angered many Marines, and senior commanders say privately they will be pleased if his stay is short. ``Anyone who would work with the Taliban are horrible people,'' said Sgt. Erik Knox, 37, of Chicago. A senior military legal adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Marine commanders want Walker off the base as soon as possible and are just waiting for Washington to decide what to do with him. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that Walker has been providing useful information. He said no final decision has been made on what to do with him. ``He's been pretty close to the action, and he has provided from the Afghan perspective some useful information,'' Myers said on ``Fox News Sunday.'' ``I think the evidence is pretty strong that he was right in the middle of it.'' Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking on NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' said: ``Somebody will have to make a decision whether he needs to be brought to trial, what the charge might be.'' The Defense Department has classified his status as a ``battlefield detainee.'' In San Francisco, James Brosnahan, a lawyer for Walker's parents, declined comment. Marines also worked Sunday to build a detention center for prisoners of war just outside the walls of their desert camp. Marines spokesman Capt. David Romley said the camp will house any battlefield detainees or prisoners of war - or even civilians - that U.S. military officials want to hold in Afghanistan. Any other detainees would have the same rights as Walker, Romley said. At the site where the detention center was being built, a watch tower overlooks a pen with a nine-foot wall of earth. Barbed wire lies on the ground, presumably to string around the perimeter. The Justice Department has said Americans who have fought for the Taliban or al-Qaida could face treason, murder, conspiracy or other charges. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now apparently, this young bloke has outraged middle America who are demanding that he comes back to the US to face charges of treason. They cannot seem to fathom the possibilty that someone born in America might want to fight against America. The TV pictures I saw showed a rather pathetic looking bag of bones being helped in and out of bed. He didn't look like a threat to the USA at all. But its likely he will be charged with treason. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of death.</span>
