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YODO: You Only Die Once.
Why Not Make It Martyrdom?
Samantha Smith, 19th May 2014
FBI Director James Comey is just the latest in a string of American and European officials to voice their concerns over the ever-increasing number of their citizens travelling to Syria to fight in the civil war[1]. A fortnight ago, Comey expressed his “determination” to prevent another September 11 arising from the situation in Syria[2]. He compared Syria to Afghanistan in the 1980s and 90s, and the conditions in Syria to be similar to those that facilitated the formation of al Qaeda in Afghanistan[3].
French President François Hollande expressed similar sentiments when he told reporters last month “France will take all measures to dissuade, prevent and punish those who are tempted to fight where they have no reason to be”[4]. Belgium’s Interior Minister, Joelle Milquet, emphasises that their main concern is coping with the return of fighters, who they fear will not only be radicalised but trained and experienced in waging guerilla warfare[5].
The Syrian civil war, now entering its fourth year, has attracted an unprecedented number of foreign fighters[6]. Though data is unreliable, estimates put the number of foreign fighters currently active as between six to eight thousand[7], depending on the source. Approximately one to two thousand individuals from Western countries such as the US, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Finland have participated in the war since it started[8]. Syria’s geographic location makes it relatively easy for interested parties to take up arms. First they travel to Turkey, where many European nationals are not even required to possess a passport, merely showing their ID card[9]. From there, they are able to cross the lengthy and increasingly porous Turkish-Syrian border into no-man’s-land[10]. Once inside Syria, it has been reported that the expedition takes on an almost summer camp feel, with well-funded groups such as Islamic State of Iraq and ash Sham and Jabhat al Nusra providing clothes, food, shelter, weapons and free wi-fi[11]. Many foreign fighters have taken to social media to document their experiences, posting pictures of tanks, big skies, fighters looking manfully into the horizon and posing Rambo-style with Kalashnikovs, under hashtags such as, #alphamale, #beardlife, #jihadisthebesttourism[12]. The images are not too different from conventional military recruitment campaigns.
In response to what has been dubbed “a great danger” by Germany’s Interior Minister, Thomas de Maizière[13], Western governments have initiated a string of arrests, put in process a number of preventive, punitive and rehabilitative measures, as well as making moves to strengthen their respective legislative mechanisms. On the 23rd April 2014, at a French Cabinet meeting, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve presented a multi-prongedanti-radicalization planinvolving more than 20 measures[14].One of the core provisions of the strategy includes the creation of a counseling centre, specific website and a telephone hotlinefor parents or family members wishing to seek professional advice about how to handle children they are concerned are becoming radicalized[15]. Meanwhile, in the UK, police haveappealed to Muslim women to help persuade young people not to fight in the war[16]. The Metropolitan Police’s senior national coordinator for counter terrorism, Helen Ball, has stated that “this is not about criminalising people, it is about preventing tragedies. We want to inform those who wish to genuinely help the Syrian cause how they can do so safely and legally"[17].
Nevertheless, the Head of the Counter Terrorism and Special Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, Sue Hemming, said that on their return to the UK, Britons who had travelled to fight in Syria may face life sentences under terrorism offences[18]. Two men were arrested on the 17 January 2014, charged with ‘international travel for the purposes of terrorism’ after allegedly fighting with the ISIS[19]. Another man was arrested on the same day on suspicion of being trained in a so-called jihadist training camp in Syria[20]. So far this year 40 arrests have been made in the UK[21]; this is almost double the number of the total 24 arrests made in 2013[22]. This year has witnessed increased activity by law enforcement and intelligence services across America and Europe. A dual Lebanese-American citizen who has been residing in the US for the last decade faces up to fifteen years in prison and a fine of USD 250,000 if convicted, after allegedly attempting to join Hezbollah’s ranks in Syria[23]. Arrests have also been made in Berlin, Bonn and Frankfurt[24] and at number of locations in France after a coordinated raid last week[25].
France has developed its own legalistic methods of dealing with the issue. At the beginning of this year, it convened a special counter-terrorism court to try its citizens under such suspicions, the first of whom were two high school students aged fifteen and sixteen who were believed to have briefly fought with ISIS[26].
In addition to intensified law enforcement activity, many governments have sought to expand their legislative powers, though none as severe as Britain’s initiative to strip terrorism suspects of their citizenship[27]. 14 May 2014, Britain passed legislation allowing the government to render terrorism suspects stateless. Previously, the government was only able to revoke a suspect’s citizenship if they were a dual-national[28]. The new law permits a person to be stripped of their citizenship if the Home Secretary deems that it is “seriously prejudicial to the vital interests if the United Kingdom” [29]. It can be revoked, effective immediately, without a public hearing, taking the country’s already extensive nationality powers a step further[30]. Canadian[31] and Australian[32] senior officials have also signaled that they are considering implementing similar legislation.
It is too early to comment on what effect, positive or negative, these measures will have on Western countries’ domestic Muslim populations, their international standing and the flood of youth to Syria. Nonetheless it is clear that, across the globe, senior political and security officials are committed to stopping young fighters from leaving their countries to join rebel groups in Syria.
Reference List
2014. "Citizenship Act Changes: Longer Wait to Become Canadian, Terrorists to Lose Citizenship." (Diana Mehta).
Baker, Aryn. "Jihad for Beginners: Westerners Fighting with Al-Qaeda in Syria." (2013).
Bentham, Martin. "Exclusive: Brits Who Fight in Syria Face Life in Jail." London Evening Standard, 3 February 2014.
"Britain Worried About Terrorists Returning from Syria." Alalam, 25 January 2014.
Bureau Reporter. "Citizenship Revoked. How It Happened: Live-Tweeting the House of Commons Debate on Statelessness." The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/05/07/how-it-happened-live-tweeting-the-house-of-commons-debate-on-statelessness/.
"A Change of Tack on Syria." http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27147962.
Chazan, David. " "More Than 6,000 Foreign [...].". The Times 32 (2013).
Con Coughlin and Gordon Rayner. "Hundreds of British Jihadists in Syria." The Telegraph, 3 December 2013.
Crabapple, Molly. "Jihad Tourists ". Newsweek Global 162, no. 7 (2014): 52.
"Fbi Chief: More Americans Joining Syrian War." Aljazeera, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/05/fbi-chief-more-americans-joining-syrian-war-20145221539486269.html.
"Foreign Fighters from Western Countries in the Ranks of the Rebel Organizations Affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Global Jihad in Syria." The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, January 2014.
"French Teenagers Charged over Syria Jihad." The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 February 2014.
"German Authorities Arrest Three People for Alleged Ties to Syrian Radical Group." Deutsche Welle, 31 March 2013.
Hurst, Daniel. "George Brandis Won't Say If Australians Fighting in Syria Will Lose Citizenship." The Guardian, 28 January 2014.
Johnson, Carrie. "Fbi Director: Radicalization of Westerners in Syria Is of Great Concern." National Public Radio, 2 May 2014.
Keaten, Jamey. "French Police Arrest 6 Suspected Syria Jihadists." ABC News, 13 May 2013.
Kern, Soeren. "France Launches Anti-Jihadist Plan." Gatestone Institue: International Policy Council (2 May 2014).
"Man Accused of Visiting Terror Camp ". Belfast Telegraph, 17 January 2014.
Pomeroy, Robin. "France to Unveil Plan to Fight Syrian Jihadist Threat." 22 April 2014.
"Prevent Tragedies: Starting the Conversation on Syria." Association of Chief Police Officers, 24 April 2014.
Sen, Ashish. "Rise in Westerners Joining Al Qaeda in Syria Jarring." The Washington Times (2013).
Shankar, Abha. "Dearborn Man Arrested Trying to Join Hizballah Fighters in Syria." The Investigative Project on Terrorism (18 March 2014).
Siegel, Pascale. "The Blowback Theory." Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (2013).
Singer, Peter. "Trouble with Revoking Citizenship Extralegally." http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/05/11/commentary/world-commentary/trouble-with-revoking-citizenship-extralegally/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+(The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories) - .U33zIfmSyJp.
Smale, Alison. "Flow of Westerners to Syria Prompts Security Concerns." New York Times (2014).
Tsiliopoulos, Euthimis. "European Intelligence Working with Damascus." Times of Change, 16 January 2014.
"Two Charged with Terrorism Offences." Belfast Telegraph 24 May 2014.
Wong, Kristina. "Foreign Jihadists Surpass Afghan-Soviet War, Storm Syria in Record Numbers." The Washington Times, 20 October 2013.
[1]Alison Smale, "Flow of Westerners to Syria Prompts Security Concerns," New York Times (2014).
[2] Carrie Johnson, "Fbi Director: Radicalization of Westerners in Syria Is of Great Concern," National Public Radio 2 May 2014.
[3] "Fbi Chief: More Americans Joining Syrian War," Aljazeera, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/05/fbi-chief-more-americans-joining-syrian-war-20145221539486269.html.
[4] Robin Pomeroy, "France to Unveil Plan to Fight Syrian Jihadist Threat," 22 April 2014.
[5] Ashish Sen, "Rise in Westerners Joining Al Qaeda in Syria Jarring," The Washington Times (2013).
[6] Pascale Siegel, "The Blowback Theory," Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (2013); Kristina Wong, "Foreign Jihadists Surpass Afghan-Soviet War, Storm Syria in Record Numbers," The Washington Times 20 October 2013.
[7] David Chazan, " "More Than 6,000 Foreign [...]." The Times 32(2013).
[8] Con Coughlin and Gordon Rayner, "Hundreds of British Jihadists in Syria," The Telegraph 3 December 2013. "Foreign Fighters from Western Countries in the Ranks of the Rebel Organizations Affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Global Jihad in Syria," (The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, January 2014).
[9] Aryn Baker, "Jihad for Beginners: Westerners Fighting with Al-Qaeda in Syria," (2013).
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Molly Crabapple, "Jihad Tourists " Newsweek Global 162, no. 7 (2014).
[13] Euthimis Tsiliopoulos, "European Intelligence Working with Damascus," Times of Change 16 January 2014.
[14] Soeren Kern, "France Launches Anti-Jihadist Plan," Gatestone Institue: International Policy Council (2 May 2014).
[15] Ibid.
[16] "Prevent Tragedies: Starting the Conversation on Syria," (Association of Chief Police Officers, 24 April 2014).
[17] Ibid.
[18] Martin Bentham, "Exclusive: Brits Who Fight in Syria Face Life in Jail," London Evening Standard 3 February 2014.
[19] "Two Charged with Terrorism Offences," Belfast Telegraph 24 May 2014.
[20] "Man Accused of Visiting Terror Camp ", Belfast Telegraph 17 January 2014.
[21] "A Change of Tack on Syria," http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27147962.
[22] "Britain Worried About Terrorists Returning from Syria," Alalam 25 January 2014.
[23] Abha Shankar, "Dearborn Man Arrested Trying to Join Hizballah Fighters in Syria," The Investigative Project on Terrorism (18 March 2014).
[24] "German Authorities Arrest Three People for Alleged Ties to Syrian Radical Group," Deutsche Welle 31 March 2013.
[25] Jamey Keaten, "French Police Arrest 6 Suspected Syria Jihadists," ABC News 13 May 2013.
[26] "French Teenagers Charged over Syria Jihad," The Sydney Morning Herald 1 February 2014.
[27] Peter Singer, "Trouble with Revoking Citizenship Extralegally," http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/05/11/commentary/world-commentary/trouble-with-revoking-citizenship-extralegally/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+(The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories)#.U33zIfmSyJp.
[28] Ibid. Bureau Reporter, "Citizenship Revoked. How It Happened: Live-Tweeting the House of Commons Debate on Statelessness," The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/05/07/how-it-happened-live-tweeting-the-house-of-commons-debate-on-statelessness/.
[29] Ibid. Ibid.
[30] Ibid.
[31] 2014, "Citizenship Act Changes: Longer Wait to Become Canadian, Terrorists to Lose Citizenship," (Diana Mehta).
[32] Daniel Hurst, "George Brandis Won't Say If Australians Fighting in Syria Will Lose Citizenship," The Guardian 28 January 2014.