More Arrests of Americans Attempting to Fight for ISIL in Syria by Bobby Chesney.
For the post:
Six Somali-American men from the Minneapolis area have been arrested on material support charges, based on allegations that they were attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIL. The complaint and corresponding FBI affidavit are posted here. Note that the complaint is a handy case study in the variety of investigative techniques that FBI might employ in a case of this kind, with examples including open-source review of a suspect’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, use of a CHS (“Confidential Human Source”) who previously had been part of this same material support conspiracy, review of call records to establish connections among the defendants, review of bank records, use of video footage recorded in public places, and review of instant messages exchanged via Kik (a footnote on p. 9 of the affidavit notes that Kik “does not maintain records of user conversations”).
Take special note of:
Note that the complaint is a handy case study in the variety of investigative techniques that FBI might employ in a case of this kind, with examples including open-source review of a suspect’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, use of a CHS (“Confidential Human Source”) who previously had been part of this same material support conspiracy, review of call records to establish connections among the defendants, review of bank records, use of video footage recorded in public places, and review of instant messages exchanged via Kik (a footnote on p. 9 of the affidavit notes that Kik “does not maintain records of user conversations”).
If you seriously want to travel to Syria, for reasons that seem sufficient to you, print out the FBI complaint in this case and avoid each and every one of the activities and statements (or statements of that kind), detailed in the complaint.
If you engage in any of those activities or make statements of that sort, your legitimate travel plans to Syria may be disrupted.
Any aid these six defendants could have provided to ISIL would have been more accidental than on purpose. If being nearly overwhelmed with the difficulty of traveling overseas isn’t enough of a clue as to the defendant’s competence, their travel arrangements would have been made more bizarre only by wearing a full Ronald McDonald costume to the airport. One day in a foreign country before returning?
I understand. Idealistic young people have always wanted to join causes larger than themselves. Just taking recent history into account, there were the Freedom Riders in the 1960’s, along with the Anti-War Movement of the same era. And they want to join those causes despite the orthodoxy being preached and enforced by secular governments.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with opposition to corrupt, U.S.-supported Arab governments. To the extent ISIL does exactly that, its designation as a “terrorist” organization is ill-founded. Terrorist designations are more political than moral.
Here’s a suggestion:
IS/ISIL seems to be short on governance expertise, however well it has been doing in terms of acquiring territory. Territory is ok, but effective governance gives a greater reason to be invited to the bargaining table.
Under 18 U.S.C. 2339B (j), there is an exception:
No person may be prosecuted under this section in connection with the term “personnel”, “training”, or “expert advice or assistance” if the provision of that material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization was approved by the Secretary of State with the concurrence of the Attorney General. The Secretary of State may not approve the provision of any material support that may be used to carry out terrorist activity (as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act).
I’m not saying it is likely, but asking the State Department for permission to supply governance, medical expertise, civil engineers, etc. are all necessary aspects of governance that IS/ISIL needs just as much as fighters.
Yes, I know, doing the administrative work of government isn’t as romantic as riding into battle on a “technical” but it is just as necessary.
PS: If anyone is seriously interested, I can collate the FBI complaint with similar complaints and create a “So You Want to Travel to Syria?” document that lists all the statements and activities to avoid.
Aside to the FBI: Syria is going to need civil engineers, etc., no matter who “wins.” Putting people on productive paths is far more useful than feeding and feeding off of desires to make an immediate difference.