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2 Americans Said to Have Joined ISIS Caught on the Front Lines in Syria

Rogue Valley

Lead or get out of the way
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2 Americans Said to Have Joined ISIS Caught on the Front Lines in Syria

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Fighters for the Syrian Democratic Forces in Hajin, Syria, last month.

1/6/19
A 34-year-old man from Houston who sent a résumé and cover letter seeking a job inside the Islamic State was captured alive on the battlefield alongside another American fighting for the terrorist group, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces, who announced the arrest on Sunday. The two Americans reported captured, Warren Christopher Clark and Zaid Abed al-Hamid, were seized alongside other foreign fighters, including citizens of Ireland and Pakistan. They were taken during an operation targeting the Islamic State’s last pocket of control in northern Syria, according to a statement issued by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led and American-supported militia that is fighting to take back territory from ISIS. Only four other Americans are known to have been captured alive on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria, according to a database maintained by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. Similarly small is the number of Americans who have returned to the United States after joining the terrorist group. Extraditions to the United States of Mr. Clark and Mr. al-Hamid, whose surname was also spelled al-Hamed, would make them only the 15th and 16th American adults to return from joining ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Among the documents left behind in a house that had been occupied by ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, were Mr. Clark’s résumé and a cover letter, which begins: “Dear Director, I am looking to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State.” “I believe that a successful teacher can understand a student’s strengths and weaknesses,” it continues, “and is able to use that understanding to help students build on their understanding of the English language.” Little is known about the American said to be captured alongside Mr. Clark, beyond his age, 35. The Syrian Democratic Forces did not release where he is from in the United States. A similarly spelled name — Zaid Abdul-Hamid — appears in a cache of ISIS registration forms indicating that he provided a reference for a recruit from Trinidad and Tobago when that recruit joined the group in 2014. The same form indicates that Mr. Abdul-Hamid was in Raqqa, Syria, at the time that he acted as the reference. According to three separate reports, including an assessment by the Pentagon’s inspector general, ISIS still maintains a force of 20,000 to 30,000 members in Iraq and Syria.

I really don't understand why Trump would pull US forces out of Syria prematurely and leave our Kurdish allies to the cutthroat designs of the Erdogan wolf.

And 20,000-30,000 members of ISIS remaining is a significant number. US military commanders in the region do not share in Trumps assessment that ISIS is defeated.
 
So how does this work? It seems when an American is captured overseass while fighting against our forces he should be brought back to the states and tried in our civilian courts for treason. Is that the norm?
 
I think that they should turn them over to Assad. He'll take care of them. Maybe a downtown stone throwing in Damascus.
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So how does this work? It seems when an American is captured overseass while fighting against our forces he should be brought back to the states and tried in our civilian courts for treason. Is that the norm?

IIRC they are placed under arrest and returned to the US via FBI agents. Usually they are charged with joining a terrorist organization which carries a long prison term in a supermax.
 
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