Americans were shocked to learn that one of our own had fought for the Taliban. Emerging froma gruesome battle at the end of the Afghan War onto the evening news, the so-called American Taliban would become linked inextricably to the CIA paramilitary who interrogated him, All-American Hero Mike Spann, who died in that battle, beaten and tortured to death. Public opinion was one of outrage. The Bush administration vowed to make an example of the traitor. Attorney General John Ashcroft promised to bring Lindh to justice for participating in the murder of Spann. Why then, after threatening treason and the death penalty, did the government suddenly abandon a trial in favor of a soft plea deal? Why did they let him get away with it? To answer the question, this book puts John Walker Lindh on trial, but it also examines the case against the U.S. government that a trial might have revealed. What double game did the government play before the Afghan War, involving oil pipelines, CIA soldiers, and Saudi payoffs? Why did they hang Mike Spann out to dry?