In both world wars, a small group of Americans defied their country’s
official neutrality to serve in foreign armies. Though some were motivated by
the promise of adventure, their motives were usually ideological. Many felt
that democracy and human rights were values dear to Americans and that to do
nothing and thereby allow threats to these ideals to go unchecked was unpatriotic,
even if they had to risk losing their citizenship to do so. Many felt, rightly
so as History has since shown, that their country would eventually get involved
anyway. We are seeing the emergence of a
similar phenomenon in the current battle against IS.
Because Islamic State is officially
named as a terrorist organization, any foreigner traveling to join its ranks is
considered, rightly so, a terrorist and deserves to be considered a
criminal and a traitor. However, the gate doesn’t swing both ways and I
certainly don’t think it should. An important question to consider is whether
westerners traveling to the region to join the ranks of those opposing IS should be painted with the
same brush. Should any person traveling to fight in a foreign conflict be considered
unpatriotic or subversive without regard to their reasons why?
There is historic precedent
to suggest that unless these “war tourists” take up arms against their own
nations, they won’t be held accountable as criminals. In the world wars, tens
of thousands of Americans joined the Canadian Army to fight in Europe, hundreds
more served in the armies of France and Britain. In addition, consider the
famous Lafayette Flying Corps of WW1 as well as the Flying Tigers and Eagle
Squadrons of WW2; American pilots who served in foreign air service without their
countries official sanction. Many Americans have served in the Mahal of the
Israeli Army without prosecution or loss of citizenship. Some have volunteered
for service to the Israeli Army as non-combatants in the Sar-El program, most
notably former US Congressman and current Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel who repaired IDF vehicles in 1991 while the Gulf War was unfolding in Kuwait. (As you may have guessed, he didn't lose his citizenship or go to jail.)
Look for more stories like this as private citizens from many countries
join the fight against IS. Perhaps the phenomenon will even spread to Africa in
the fight against Boko Haram and Al Shabab. One thing is for certain, the rise
of the trans-national soldier is not going away anytime soon.
Mississippi
man travels to Syria to fight ISIS
Canadian
woman, a former IDF soldier, joins Kurds fighting ISIS: report
Now
German biker gangs join their Dutch counterparts in fighting against ISIS in
Kobane
Rahm Emmanuel Serves with Sar-El
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