Great. Now we can pay tens of thousands of dollars a year for them to spread their terrorist religion in our prison system.
3
If I committed a crime in, say, Germany, I wouldn't expect to extradited to the US. I would expect to pay whatever penalty Germans impose for such crimes.
I suspect that penalties in Syria are more severe and a bit more speedy than they would be here. I don't believe the death penalty makes us more civilized. But if you sow hatred and death, you might ultimately have to reap what you have sown.
4
Let the traitor receive what traitors deserve...
3
Generalization is blissful for our omniscient, shoot from the hip, no knowledge, nor worry, omnipotent "Commander-in-Chief".
If this alleged ISIS member, is an American citizen and if confirmed, a wall in this case would not have stopped this genuine, American "terrorist", from perpetrating further terror.
Had he not been caught, by prematurely pulling all of our troops out within 30 days he could have committed further terrorism there, and perhaps if he came back to the US.
So much for the wall. Still, my heart goes out to his parents.
So much speculation here! Let's ask him - the answer might be informative and provide some insight into what might motivate others. We should bear in mind, however, that what one person in this huge country might do is statistically irrelevant.
1
Why are we even hearing about this? We don't want him back. We needn't send him to Guantanamo. Our battlefield allies should have shot him forthwith and saved everyone a lot of trouble.
5
So that innocent until proven guilty thing.. Remember that? The guy might have been teaching them English this whole time, and might need their help dodging bullets sometimes. Maybe he was going to be their hostage but got out of it by pretending to assimilate. Not saying I believe these possibilities necessarily but come on, let's stop assuming things on so little evidence.
3
@Jasminc Look up "Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki", the 16 year old American citizen murdered by a drone strike while eating at a cafe in 2011. Obama authorized the strike, as this young man's father was a suspected al-Queda leader. His father had already been killed by a separate drone strike 2 weeks prior to the strike that killed this kid and 6 others including his teenage cousin.
This occurred in a country with which we weren't even at war.
"Innocent until proven guilty" hasn't really existed for at least the last decade, and the last administration literally maintaining "kill lists" (see: "Disposition Matrix") makes that point clear.
2
Even though the number of people joining ISIS is small (the ones leaving, not the returnees), I would still like to understand better what motivated these people. It would be in our interest to bring them back so we can find out more. Especially when they are older and should know well enough what they are joining.
I don't buy the simplistic religious notion. What makes this group so attractive? Leaving everything behind to join a group that is embroiled in vicious strive with highly uncertain prospects?
4
It would be impossible to rationalize the actions of such a minority. Best way to explain it is in the notion that Trump does not have a monopoly on stupidity.
13
So much for full employment.
2
Right now is a good time to ask ourselves why, if America is such a "great" nation under Trump, are these men and others seeking allegiance to ISIS?
There is a reason and we are not addressing it properly. Force begets force - but that is all that Trump knows. His mind is incapable of anything greater than binary thought at best. This sociopathic bully will be our un-doing if allowed to continue his brainless, planless, inhuman destructive path.
A REAL President is expected to be intelligent, to read, to intake many valid points of view, to listen to ALL the people whom he/she represents and to have the cognitive, ethical and moral abilities to reach a well-reasoned conclusion. Trump has none of these traits. He is mentally very unstable, uneducated, narcissistic, ignorant and puerile. He is most certainly NOT a President - never was and should never be. Those who support him are equally accountable for HIS destructive and divisive actions.
Time to purge this new, most filthy, swamp, and replace its occupants with decent, smart humans.
8
@RealTRUTH - Ypu sound very much like a troll. President Trump has nothing to do with the unfortunate loners who seek to belong by joining something as violent and evil as a terrorist organization. ISIS is no different than Shining Path, the Symbionese Liberation Army or any of the groups of that type. Groups like ISIS will not succeed and they will not endure.
President Trump serves the American people - because he won the election. He may never be considered a great President but he is President. He’ll serve one or two four-year terms and be off the national stage in the US.
And you will likely still be a troll. I wish you well. I hope that your life will amount to something substantive.
9
@ Col Flagg Just because Trump is President does NOT mean that he serves the American people. I won't deny that he IS President, because he did win the election, but to assume that he became President and is automatically serving our interests over his own interest is demonstrably false when you observe his actions.
1
@RealTRUTH I think Trump is the greatest disgrace to ever sit in the office of the Presidency, but Col Flagg is correct. The actions of this individual cannot be attributed to Trump. Also, according to this article, he most likely joined ISIS in June 2015, while President Obama was still on office.
3
The question for us is: Why would a college educated young American consider joining a terrorist organization that is out to destroy his own country?
We need a sober assessment of the forces that shape the future of our kids in this country, especially kids of color. Unless we address the inequities they face, they will fall prey to radicalization.
12
@NYTheaterGeek The number is "miniscule." Trying to analyze tiny numbers is pointless. Chalk it up to the fact that in a population of 326 million people, pretty much anything is possible.
19
@NYTheaterGeek Miniscule but their mindset is seriously perverted and this kid's father swears to it.
2
The Syrian Embassy to the UN has a whole book identifying foreign jihadi fighters. The countries they come from, including the US, aren't interested in the book or retrieving their citizens. It would be an admission of who the US and its allies have been supporting in their efforts to overthrow the government of Syria.
6
That's interesting. Our government says there are still 20,000 - 30,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq, and Trump says ISIS has been defeated in Syria.
10
@Bob Crazy. It's almost as if Trump is lying or something.
4
To think that Warren Clark is a university graduate and has not the slightest idea of critical thinking! (and was a teacher at our schools)
What does that say about our educational system?
20
@msf I don't think it really says too much, actually. There was a very successful corporate attorney (perfectly adept at critical thinking) who gave himself wholeheartedly to the Rajneeshis and all they espouse. Many of the followers of Jim Jones were not wastrels without a purpose of an ability to reason. Rather, many of them were smart people looking for a purpose - which is what Jim Jones offered them. ISIS provided the same solution for many. A purpose and a strong reason for living (and dying, and killing, not coincidently). Many of our neighbors are similarly able to separate critical thinking and reason from belief - as most all major world religions require. After all, we have the capacity to be rational at times - but we are not (in essence) rational beings. We are animals, looking for the place we fit in to our pod, our society, our universe. Hopefully more of us will find a more peaceful solution for our mutual quandary.
27
Maybe Mr. Clark doesn't really know his son at all. No "humanitarian" would ever be recruited by ISIS or any other terrorist organization that is "evil" and kills everyone. His son's recruitment by ISIS is the same as treason. That's why US military forces have been in Syria all these years which is to defeat terrorism.
27
Naïveté? I'd buy the naïveté argument from a teenager or a very young adult but at 35 naïveté is a pretty lame excuse. That's like calling Trump Jr. a good kid at 40 something. If you don't know better by 35, you ought to know. Throw in all the contradictions concerning citizenship and identity and I'm even more skeptical.
Thanks but I'll wait for the official report on Mr. Clark. We clearly don't know what was going on with him right now.
15
@Andy I agree, yes, let’s wait. But his behavior does seem odd. Doesn’t citizenship in a free nation require some thinking outside of your own box? I volunteer to pay for a 6-month NYT subscription for him. Naturally, I will want to exclude NYT editorial opinion. Especially that which I view as nuts.
2
It is more than disconcerting to know that there are 2 Americans who would join the enemy to fight against us and our allies.
2 modern day Benedict Arnolds.
32
The cover letter is priceless.
27
@Jordan
Impressive, indeed. I wonder if he kept his LinkedIn profile up to date, as well.
22
If we faulted people for working in a helpful way in conglomerate enterprises like states and nations most of us would be tarnished. Loyalty to anything or anyone on earth is trumped by the need to be loyal exclusively to Reality with a capital R. That involves transcendent values.
9
Buried in this article is a very interesting point about the country of Trinidad. Trump recently appointed one of his Mara -a- Lago club members to be Ambassador there. Of course, that person has no foreign policy experience. So few people are aware of the political threat that country can pose, given the coup ttempt of 2011 and the omgoing pipeline of its citizens ending up on the battlefields
67
@Working doc "Of course, that person has no foreign policy experience. "
Would you expect anything else from Trump?
6
@Bob R- Long before Mr. Trump, Ambassadorships were used to reward political contributions to both Democrat and Republican campaigns! Only a few important embassies have State Dept professionals in charge. Trindidad/Tobago was never one of those!
3
@Working doc Literally no coup attempt took place in 2011. No need to falsify information to get a point across.
I do not like ISIL, the self-declared Islamic State in the Levant, by their English name.
But I do not understand how we can hope to move from warfare to diplomacy (giving them a chance to go away to avoid destruction) if we keep insulting them whenever they’re mentioned.
Calling monotheistic Islamic radicals by the name of one of Egypt’s ancient polytheist deities, Isis, must land as an insult every time members hear it.
Warfare is the failure of diplomacy, and I prefer arranging time for the ‘nation’ to disband without further bloodshed.
Diplomacy will be a tough sell to ISIL, but, as a nation, we can at least not insult them in a belated effort to explain to them they’re caught between a 24-nation coalition on one side, and al-Assad and Russia on another, and a very strong Kurdish force on the third.
If we don’t insult them and they choose death over peace, we can at least say we did our best.
5
@Eatoin Shrdlu
Am I to understand your sentiment to mean that "we" (the English speakers) are insulting Daesh (an Arabic acronym) fighters every single time they pick up NYT, because the English acronym "ISIS" (used to designate Daesh) looks similar to one of the English transcription for the Greek name of an Egyptian goddess, "Isis"? Well, sometimes English acronyms are the tools of peace. The Irish Republican Army had virtually stopped its operations, once their phone lines got overwhelmed by calls about the Individual Retirement Accounts... So maybe Daesh will be brought down by the influx of alternagirls thinking they were joining the Isis cult.
44
@Eatoin Shrdlu The truth is the truth. The USA's negative turn has been embellished with silvery language over several decades. The Vatican coverups of the Church's burgeoning child sex trade has also been concealed under layers meant to avoid insult to the instigators. Insulting or not, we we need to peel away layers of platitudes to even reach an understanding of what we're up against. Cowering in the name of doing "our best" is far too weak to undermine such a grossly wicked force.
4
@Eatoin Shrdlu
ISIL/ISIS/Daesh is a death cult.
"If we don't insult them..." Their very existence is an insult to humanity.
3
On December 19, Trump tweeted, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria.” Not true, as anyone paying attention knew, and as confirmed by this American being recently captured fighting for ISIS on a battlefield there. This is yet another reminder that our alleged commander-in-Chief is dangerously ignorant and poses the greatest national security threat we face.
97
@J.
Yeah, too bad the appalling DJT doesn’t do like Barack Obama did and rely on noted writer and foreign policy expert Ben Rhodes for foreign policy advice.
1
@j. We have have come a long way since 44 declared something about the "JV team" that soon after controlled most of Syria and Iraq.
In the last 2 years ISIS been brought down to 700 fighters from 35 to 50000 fighters Obama allowed form there. Lines in the sand indeed.
3
@Lane "According to three separate reports, including an assessment by the Pentagon’s inspector general, the Islamic State still maintains a force of 20,000 to 30,000 members in Iraq and Syria."
3
Warren Clark, the alleged father of the individual caught, ought to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, America. That's how our laws work. So I trust his neighbors will treat the his father with respect and compassion.
Ask yourselves, America: what would you do were you to suddenly discover your son or daughter may had joined a violent religious sect overseas?
Pray for him, I hope.
82
@Mel Nunes
Please inform the #MeToo movement. They may non-peacefully and publicly disagree with the notion that we need a trial before the sentencing.
48
@Mel Nunes Um, no. If my son joined a violent religious terrorist organization overseas, he would no longer be my son. Some things don't just get hand-waved away.
38
@Mel Nunes I would pray for my son or daughter, and my true friends would not attack me as a result of something my son or daughter did or didn't do with the Islamic state. Although, they would be curious. However, while I would pray and continue to love them, and go to their trial in support, I would NOT blame my country. There is no reason that an American goes to Syria or any other country where ISIS (or the brotherhood, Hamas, etc.) is in charge or fighting for control for any reason other than to join ISIS. Even if they are just curious; we are responsible for our actions and today the west is at war with ISIS.