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Thread: American Arrested for Fighting in Syria

  1. #1
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    Default "F**k a drone"

    This tidbit started with a Fox News story, US-born former Army vet known as 'The American' fights alongside Al Qaeda (by Greg Tepper and Ilan Ben Zion, March 11, 2013):

    He's a U.S.-trained soldier turned Muslim warrior who moves between America and countries where the winds of the Arab spring blow, fighting alongside jihadists and America-hating terrorists while celebrating his bloody exploits on YouTube videos.

    Eric Harroun, 30, grew up in Phoenix before joining the U.S. Army in 2000. Although Harroun was never deployed during his three-year hitch, he has seen plenty of combat fighting with Syrian rebels and, more recently, Jabhat al-Nusra, a group the U.S. State Department classifies as an alias for Al Qaeda in Iraq. ...
    and then amplified in a Foreign Policy piece, The Jihadist from Phoenix - Eric Harroun claims to have joined up with an al Qaeda-linked group fighting in Syria’s brutal civil war. We tracked him down, but getting the truth was more difficult (by Greg Tepper and Ilan Ben Zion, March 22, 2013):

    In mid-January, a video emerged on YouTube of an English-speaking man, wearing a black-and-white kaffiyeh and surrounded by four bearded Arab men, addressing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad directly. "Your days are numbered, you're going down in flames, you should just quit now while you can," he said. "You're going to die no matter what ... we will find you and kill you."

    The speaker was Eric Harroun, a white American from Phoenix, Arizona, who hails from a Christian family. He has become a self-described Sunni Muslim, fighting in Syria's brutal civil war -- even, he claimed, joining up with Jabhat al-Nusra, which the State Department has labeled an alias of al Qaeda in Iraq. He served nearly four years in the U.S. Army's 586th Engineering Company, but was never deployed overseas.

    In mid-March, a video released by Assad's supporters celebrated the alleged death of "The American" fighting in Syria. But Harroun himself confirmed to us that the rumors were false: In a Skype chat on March 17, he appeared alive and well, and claimed he was staying near the upscale Taksim Square, in Istanbul, Turkey. ...
    That piece ends with Harroun's view of drones - the headline to this post.

    And, no; Harroun was not "droned", in Syria or in Turkey. Instead, he returned to the US, being met by a kinder and gentler Department of Justice face with criminal complaint in hand.

    The present charge (subject to amendment) alleges a violation of 18 USC 2332a(b), which (inter alia) makes it a crime for a US national to conspire, while abroad, to use "weapons of mass destruction". So, what sort of CBRN weapon was Harroun conspiring to use. None; the weapon alleged was an RPG.

    How does one get there ? Here, in material part, 18 USC 2332a(c):

    (c) Definitions ... (2) the term “weapon of mass destruction” means -
    (A) any destructive device as defined in section 921 of this title; ...
    and 18 USC § 921 - Definitions:

    (a) As used in this chapter ...

    (4) The term “destructive device” means —

    (A) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas —

    (i) bomb,

    (ii) grenade,

    (iii) rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces,

    (iv) missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce,

    (v) mine, or

    (vi) device similar to any of the devices described in the preceding clauses;

    (B) any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell which the Attorney General finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes) by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter; and

    (C) any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described in subparagraph (A) or (B) and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled. ...
    This could be a very stiff charge, whether or not Harroun killed or aided in killing anyone:

    ... shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, and if death results, shall be punished by death, or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.
    A charge under the Neutrality Act is a relatively minor offense, 18 USC § 960 - Expedition against friendly nation:

    ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
    and one might argue about whether Syria and the US are "at peace".

    A charge, closely fitting the FBI declaration, would be under 18 USC § 2339D - Receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization; but that again carries a lesser sentence:

    ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for ten years, or both.
    From Harroun's viewpoint, no good deed goes unpunished.

    Regards

    Mike
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-30-2013 at 02:07 PM. Reason: Copied from manin Syria tread for the details within

  2. #2
    Council Member bourbon's Avatar
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    Default American Arrested for Fighting in Syria

    Former U.S. Soldier Charged with Conspiring to Use Destructive Device While Fighting with al Qaeda-Affiliated Group in Syria. U.S. Attorney’s Office - Eastern District of Virginia, March 28, 2013.
    ALEXANDRIA, VA—Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, was arrested and charged with conspiring to use a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) while fighting with the al Nusrah Front, an organization commonly referred to as “al Qaeda in Iraq” and designated as a foreign terrorist organization since October 2004.
    FBI Affidavit in Support of a Criminal Complaint (PDF)


    US Army veteran charged with fighting with al-Qaida in Syria, using weapon of mass destruction
    . Associated Press, March 28 2013.
    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A U.S. Army veteran, who boasted on Facebook of his military adventures with Syrian rebels, was charged Thursday with firing rocket propelled grenades as part of an attack led by an al-Qaida group against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, was charged in U.S. District Court in Alexandria with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction — specifically, a rocket propelled grenade launcher — outside the U.S.

    Background Article:
    The Jihadist from Phoenix, BY Greg Tepper, Ilan Ben Zion. ForeignPolicy.com, March 22, 2013.
    “[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson

  3. #3
    Council Member bourbon's Avatar
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    IMHO, this is pretty ridiculous. To be honest I am angry that our government is wasting resources to bring charges against this guy – I see no threat to the United States from this guy. The “weapons of mass destruction” charge for firing in an RPG is absurd. I'm sure its an issue of legal semantics or something - but damn, how about a whole of government lexicon?

    This guy posted his Jihadi adventures on his Facebook account – I highly doubt he would then return to the US as some kind of AQ sleeper. The US government has been known to ignore its Muslim citizens who have gone overseas to fight wars (Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Arab Spring, etc). I suspect his arrest has something to do with political correctness and his anti-zionism comments.
    “[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson

  4. #4
    Council Member bourbon's Avatar
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    Default My suspicions confirmed?

    A Weapon of Minor Destruction - How Eric Harroun, the American jihadist in Syria, was duped by the FBI into incriminating himself, by Robert Young Pelton. ForeignPolicy.com, 4 April 2013.
    Harroun had just finished an interview with an editor from the Times of Israel. He explained that the interview was combative, including numerous insults and even shouting matches with the Israeli reporters. When the article was published on Fox News, it highlighted Harroun's statement that he had fought alongside the Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra, which the State Department has labeled an alias for al Qaeda in Iraq.

    The article rattled Harroun. He decided to check in with the American consulate, with the aim of telling U.S. officials exactly what transpired while he was in Syria. He was surprised to see a print out of the Fox News story sitting on the desk of the FBI agent when he walked in for what turned out to be a four-hour interview.
    If saying unkind things about Jews and Zionists is now an arrestable offense – my Grandmother should be going to ground right about now.
    “[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson

  5. #5
    Council Member bourbon's Avatar
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    Default Kafkaesque

    Suspect in Syria case removed from 'no fly' list, now jailed in U.S, by Carol Cratty. CNN Security Clearance Blog, 8 April 2013.
    U.S. authorities had a former soldier they were investigating removed from a "no-fly" list and allowed him to travel from Turkey to the United States where he was promptly arrested on charges related to fighting alongside a terror group in Syria.

    That unusual step, revealed on Monday by a federal prosecutor in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, allowed authorities to get Eric Harroun back in the United States without having to ask Turkish authorities to arrest him.
    Seriously, how much does our government spend on clown-shoes each year?
    “[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson

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