Michelle Malkin did some digging through Usenet messages, and discovered more than a hundred posts by Ryan Anderson, aka Amir Talhah, the National Guardsman arrested and charged with trying to pass information to Al Qaeda: Trailing Attempted Espionage.

Washington State University confirms that he graduated from the school in 2002 with a degree in military history, focusing on the Middle East. Using the e-mail address wensler@wsunix.wsu.edu, Anderson posted prolifically to a strange and volatile variety of Internet newsgroups, including forums for gun enthusiasts, skinheads, cinema, games, Islam, and Arabic culture. He offered opinions on everything from the movie Starship Troopers to sniping weapons and presidential politics. Putting aside the chronic misspellings, the 154 messages are an instructive glimpse into the mind of an immature American youth with a potentially dangerous longing to belong. Here’s a small taste:

On Oct. 31, 1996, he posted a message to alt.religion.islam with the subject line, “Help! I am looking to convert, but I dont (sic) know where to start!” The message continued:

I do not know if this is unusal, but I am a 19 year old Army Officer Cadet/collage student of German/Irish decent who was raised in a “zombie Lutheran” home (i.e. everyone always followed the religion their fathers followed with no thought otherwise). I began to look at the Middle East as a course of study as I am a steadfast student of history. Seince beginning my Arab History 272 class a number of months ago, Islam has almost literaly called to me. I find myself scrambeling to find any current information, but in a collage of 24,000, 18,000 of which are students, even an English translation of the Qu’ran is quite nearly impossiable to find. I would like to talk to people, but short of walking up to people of obvious Arab decent and asking them if they are of the Faith, I dont know where to start. I would be greatfull to talk to someone, inshallah. Ryan