A U.S. military veteran known only as “John” said he was recruited to fight on the front Syrian lines against the Islamic State, and the whole process was about as easy as booking a flight to Florida for vacation.
He told Fox News in an exclusive interview that the entire process — from vetting to touching down in Syria — comprised of undergoing a brief background check via Facebook and then flying to the nation. Within a brief period of time, he was fighting on the front lines, he said, Fox News reported.
And his big concern?
That it was so easy for someone who’s not even part of the American military to get to the front lines to fight the terrorist group, he said, Fox News reported.
“I just went online and bought a ticket,” he said. “It was that easy. It was like booking a flight to Miami Beach.”
“John” said he actually found a Kurdish group, YPG, on Facebook and he sent them a message saying he was interested in joining their fight against the Islamic State.
“They got back to me, told me to send them, essentially, a resume for their vetting purposes,” he said, Fox News reported. “What I believe is that they are European go-betweens, they are not in Kurdistan, they operate receiving information of interested Westerners, and then they either relay it or make a decision themselves of whether or not this person is suitable to work with the YPG. They sent [a] message saying I was approved and someone would be waiting on me.”
“John” said he was greeted at the airport in Iraq and nearly straight away, taken to the front lines.
His claim comes on the heels of a Fox News query to the U.S. State Department about the legalities of Americans fighting with a foreign army.
“It’s certainly something we’ve spoken out against and are opposed to,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in a Dec. 19 statement, Fox News reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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