Bearded Taliban is all-American now

When he was arrested, American Taliban member John Walker Lindh was a wild-eyed fighter with long hair and a black beard. Today he presents a very different image.

Clean-shaven and with his hair cut, Lindh, 21, looked more like an all-American boy than a terrorist when he appeared in a US court.

He is accused of conspiring to murder US nationals, providing support and services to foreign terrorist organisations and carrying out violent crimes. Three of the 10 charges carry a maximum life sentence while the other seven have prison terms of up to 90 years.

Prosecutors admit they do not have evidence that Lindh actually killed Americans in Afghanistan, but a federal judge said that would not be necessary to prove he joined a conspiracy to murder Americans as a Taliban fighter.

However, defence lawyer James Brosnahan said: "I think fair-minded people would wonder just what is the government's case. We don't know who was supposed to be murdered."

Lindh, who says a picture of him bound naked and blindfold proves his claim that he was tortured by the US military after being caught in Afghanistan, has been kept in jail since being brought back to the US in January. He was watched in court in Alexandria, Virginia, by his parents, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker.

Meanwhile, Britain's first combat troops in Afghanistan will today arrive in the country under cover of darkness.

A British military spokesman said: "About 100 Marines from 45 Commando will be arriving. Over the next few days, there will be more and more coming in."