This American ‘foreign fighter’ says he’s helping Iraqi Christians fight ISIS

[SecularMotion]

Volunteers from dozens of countries around the world have flocked to join the ranks of ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The United Nations says more than 25,000 of these so-called foreign fighters have answered the extremists’ call. But other foreigners — though far fewer in number — have also traveled to the front lines to do battle with ISIS. And that includes an American named Matthew VanDyke.

VanDyke says he has founded a group called the Sons of Liberty in order to, in his words, “provide free consulting and training to Iraqi Christians who are fighting against ISIS.”

With the help of US military veterans, VanDyke says he is working with Christians from the Iraqi province of Nineveh to build a force to defend their lands against the extremists of ISIS. In the future, VanDyke says he hopes to start providing non-lethal equipment to Christian militiamen, so they can go on the offensive to re-capture territory seized by ISIS fighters in Iraq.

“It’s not a religious mission,” VanDyke says. “We’re working with Iraqi Christians because they’re highly motivated. They have good morale. They have good aptitude for doing this. They’ve suffered a lot. They’re been persecuted for a long time.”

http://wgbhnews.org/post/american-foreign-fighter-says-he-s-helping-iraqi-christians-fight-isis

[bluestateguy]

1. Iraqi Christians have every reason to form a militia and fight

American civilian busy-bodies, however, should keep out.

[Exilednight]

2. I agree, and will go one further. He should be tried as a traitor if he is former

Military and teaching US style combat techniques without authorization of the Pentagon.

[AngryAmish]

4. Explore the difference between these organizations.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_Brigade

Show your work.

[dlwickham]

31. +1

[GGJohn]

5. Huh?

I agree, and will go one further. He should be tried as a traitor if he is former
Military and teaching US style combat techniques without authorization of the Pentagon.

He doesn't need authorization from anyone to teach US combat techniques, there's no law against that, hence he's no traitor.

[Exilednight]

10. Actually, there is. This is the equivalent of being a mercenary, am

And not being sanctioned by the government.

[GGJohn]

11. He's not doing the actual combat, he's just teaching them combat tactics,

which isn't illegal nor does he need Pentagon authorization to teach US combat techniques.
And just where do you get the idea he's a traitor?

[Exilednight]

14. Actually, it is illegal. You don't have to fight to meet the legal definition of a

Mercenary. Also, the constitution only allows the executive branch to conduct foreign policy.

[GGJohn]

15. He's not conducting foreign policy for the US.

He's a private citizen helping a group of people learn to defend themselves.

How about a link to those laws you claim he's violating?

[Exilednight]

18. Are you arguing that training a foreign militia is not foreign policy?

[GGJohn]

21. That's right, I am.

He is not conducting US foreign policy, he's volunteering his time to teach Iraqi Christians to defend themselves.

[Exilednight]

24. That's'so foreign policy. Only the president can authorize

Those he appoints to train, or arm, or fight alongside foreign militias.

Remember the argument about Americans training Kurds? That's foreign policy.

[GGJohn]

26. Is he presenting himself as a rep. of the US govt?

No he's not, hence, he's not conducting US foreign policy.
Your argument is ridiculous at best, so far you've not presented any links to what you claim.

[Exilednight]

28. He doesn't have to be representing himself as a person of US govt; he simply

Needs to be a US citizen doing what is construed to be the work of the government, or interfering in US policy.

[GGJohn]

33. Nope, that's 100% false. eom.

[Exilednight]

35. It's not. I posted the UN treaty the U.S. signed defining a mercenary.

[GGJohn]

36. And he's not acting as a mercenary.

So far you've been wrong about everything on this thread, you claimed he was committing treason, you claim he's conducting foreign policy, you've claimed that he's a mercenary.

[Exilednight]

37. So .....

Is he a national nor a resident of the State against which such an act is directed?

No.

Has he been sent by a State on official duty?

No.

Is he a member of the armed forces of the State on whose territory the act is undertaken.

No.

That makes him, according to the UN treaty, a mercenary.

[GGJohn]

38. Then why aren't US authorities seeking his arrest?

Nope, you're 100% wrong and now I'm done here.

[Exilednight]

39. Laws aren't applied uniformly. State prosecutes what they want.

[GGJohn]

25. BTW, still waiting for that link of federal laws that prevent mercenaries.

Any time now?

[Exilednight]

30. It's in the UN treaty that the US signed.

Article II of the UN treaty defining mercenaries:

(c) Is neither a national nor a resident of the State against which such an act is directed;
(d) Has not been sent by a State on official duty; and
(e) Is not a member of the armed forces of the State on whose territory the act is undertaken.

[Spider Jerusalem]

22. There are federal laws against mercenaries?

And a private citizen doing what this person is doing isn't "conducting foreign policy" unless he's presenting himself as an agent of the US government (which he pretty clearly isn't doing).

[Exilednight]

29. There is, it's based in the UN treaty. Also, as I pointed out before, he does not need to represent

Himself as a govt agent. He simply needs to be a US citizen doing the work which is reserved to the government or interfering in foreign policy, which he clearly is.

This is the very reason that Prince disbanded Blackwater and moved his corporation to Dubai - so that he may do this kind of work without fear of prosecution.

[Spider Jerusalem]

40. The USA is not a party to the UN Convention on Mercenaries.

And no, he isn't; in any case, one rather suspects that "training anti-ISIS groups to fight ISIS" is what the US government's foreign and military policy with regard to that particular conflict is.

[Exilednight]

41. Actually, they are. They even have a special clause to protect PMCs. I suggest

Reading this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/156858394X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1433038352&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=blackwater&dpPl=1&dpID=41BoDS-MBrL&ref=plSrch

It explains it in detail.

[Spider Jerusalem]

43. Nope:

https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XVIII-6&chapter=18&lang=en

Go ahead, keep plumbing the apparently bottomless depths of your ignorance.

[Exilednight]

44. Yep. Read the book. It goes into great detail. Or maybe it's easier for you to remain ignorant.

[Spider Jerusalem]

45. I see you can't read

that's a link to the treaty on the UN website, with a list of signatories. The United States of America is not one of them.

[Exilednight]

46. I know what it is, and I know why the US did not sign THAT treaty. Read the book and learn what they

Did sign.

[Exilednight]

47. BTW, nice screen name. It was a great comic. Hope they finally develop the show.

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. ...

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. - US Constitution, Article III, Section 3.

[GGJohn]

8. Exactly.

I really, really wish people would learn the definition of treason before making such uniformed statements.

[Exilednight]

12. okay, not treason, but there are other laws.

[GGJohn]

13. Only if he were waging war against the US, other than that,

he's free to do what he's doing because he's not training enemies of the US.

[Exilednight]

16. Not true. A mercenary is anyone who commits to a military operation providing the U.S. does not have

A standing deceleration of war.

[GGJohn]

17. And he's not conducting any military ops, he's teaching people how to defend themselves.

And just where is this law that states that you have to have Pentagon authorization to teach US combat techniques?

[Exilednight]

20. The constitution.

[GGJohn]

23. The Constitution says that he can't teach US combat techniques?

I spent over 40 years in the US Army and this is the first time I've ever heard of this.
Maybe you can highlight the part of the Constitution that states that?

[Exilednight]

27. Article II

[dlwickham]

32. do you need a helmet

because you're going to injure yourself beating your head against that brick wall

put people on ignore and move on

[GGJohn]

34. Thanks, think I will. eom.

[AngryAmish]

3. Been done

?v=1411469599

[AngryAmish]

6. America clearly has no belly for this fight.

So we should outsource it. I personally think congress should issue letters marque probably with the Gulf Cartel, 70s era armaments, sea transport and franchises on the oil business in Daesh controlled territory. Of course the President has no control over letters marque, but we need him to issue pardons for the Mexicans involved.

Five years ago I would have gone with the
Zetad, but they are on the short end since. The new Jalisco group is worth watching.

[Telcontar]

9. Now that is an interesting idea

It has been floated before. There was some cinsideration in the 90s about using Letters of Marque to combat terrorism and drug cartels.

Two problems. One, although not a signatory, there is an international treaty banning the practice; two, foreign nations would not differentiate between privateers and uniformed military executing Nation State policy.

[AngryAmish]

19. Letters marque and reprisal are generally for non state actors

When Daesh gets a seat at the UN, we can talk. And yes, privateers have existed against state assets, but only during times of war (for the most part).

And Daesh differentiates between uniformed and nonuniformed personnel? Because there are dozens of beheading videos on liveleak that put the lie to that. They have declared themselves outlaws. Treat them as such.

Daesh needs to be destroyed. They have great popular support among the Sunni tribes. The US lacks the will to send in a Marine Expeditionary Force or the Big Red One. But civilization demands their destruction. The Mexican drug gangs are highly organized and very disciplined. With some logistics, and a multi billion prize in front of them...and then legalize the drug trade, plus pardons...this can work.

[romanic]

42. Godspeed

If he feels he can help them out, but I'm wary about this whole situation. Even though he says it's not a religious mission, it damn sure makes it more of a Holy War sort to speak. :x

[eissa]

48. I just met Gevara Zia, Commander of the NPU

He was a here as part of a minority delegation arguing that any military or humanitarian aid should be given directly to these underrepresented groups instead of funneled through Iraq's central government or the Kurds (given the level of corruption of both entities, little reaches the intended recipients.)

He stated unequivocally that Assyrians in the region are more than willing and able to defend their lands and people, and that while any help is appreciated (referring to outside mercenaries) they tended to hurt more than help our cause.

[jwirr]

49. We used to call them solder of fortune. Jn hindsight I think they may have been CIA.

[SecularMotion]

50. More on Matthew VanDyke

In late February, a Baltimore-born, self-proclaimed freedom fighter named Matthew VanDyke beamed into Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show from Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region. A few days earlier, he had announced on Facebook that he was in Iraq to "raise and train a Christian army to fight" ISIS and that he had formed a company called Sons of Liberty International (SOLI) to provide "free military consulting and training to local forces fighting terrorists and oppressive regimes." For months, the so-called Islamic State had terrorized Iraq's Assyrian Christians, forcing many to flee their homes and villages and seek safe haven among the Kurds. With ISIS on the march across Iraq and Syria—and making headlines for its brutal beheadings of journalists and aid workers—the story of an American taking an on-the-ground role in the fight sparked a media frenzy. VanDyke, who is 35 and holds a master's degree in security studies from Georgetown, was soon featured by media outlets across the country, including the New York Times, USA Today, the Baltimore Sun, and MSNBC.

This wasn't the first time VanDyke had become a media sensation. A few years earlier VanDyke had made international headlines after he was captured in Libya, where he had been fighting alongside rebel forces to overturn the regime of Moammar Qaddafi. He eventually escaped, and he would later say that his Christian faith deepened during his six-month imprisonment. A film about VanDyke, who had traveled across the Arab world by motorcycle, won best documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2014.

"So, tell me what we can do to help?" Fox's Van Susteren asked VanDyke, as he described his latest venture. VanDyke, who sported a beard and black suit and tie, made a plea for funding to continue the effort. "We're really stalled right now, unable to really continue," he explained. "I've put about $12,000 of my own money in and I'm going broke doing this, so we really need donations from the public to help these Christians defend themselves and take the fight against ISIS."

But as VanDyke solicited donations, his operation was in trouble. By the end of February, the military director of the Iraqi Christian militia VanDyke's company was training would issue a press release formally severing the group's ties with the American (though he would later rekindle his relationship with VanDyke and SOLI). Meanwhile, the initial crop of US military veterans VanDyke had brought to Iraq as trainers had abruptly quit, citing concerns that VanDyke may not have obtained US government authorization to provide military training to foreign nationals, as required by US law. Flouting such rules can carry massive fines—even prison time.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/matthew-vandyke-isis-assyrian-army

[ileus]

51. Nice to see someone who cares enough to give back.

Wonder if he can claim any of this volunteer time as a tax write off?