EmailA U.S. Army veteran has been arrested for allegedly fighting alongside an al Qaeda group in Syria and then bragging about it online.
Phoenix man Eric Harroun, who served in the Army from 2000 to 2003, was arrested Wednesday upon returning to the U.S. from Turkey, where he had described to FBI agents his bizarre journey to the front lines of Syria’s civil war with fighters from the al-Nusra Front, a designated terrorist organization also referred to as al Qaeda in Iraq.
According to charging documents, Harroun traveled to Turkey in November 2012 and eventually found people there who agreed to help him slip into Syria to help the rebels in January 2013.
Eric Harroun/Facebook
Once in Syria, he linked up with al Nusra and allegedly participated in several battles against pro-government forces. In later voluntary interviews with FBI agents in Turkey, Harroun claimed to have shot at least 10 people, but said he was unsure if he killed anyone.
Throughout his ordeal, Harroun appears to have posted pictures of himself online in military fatigues with his fellow fighters and weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade. In one post, he reportedly claimed to have downed a helicopter. He also appeared in online videos threatening Syria’s President Bashad al-Assad, court documents said.
The court documents say Harroun admitted online and to the FBI agents that he had fought with the al-Nusra Front, but claimed that he hates al Qaeda and was only trying to help topple the Assad regime. The U.S. government has repeatedly called on Assad to step down and recent news reports allege the U.S. is helping the rebels acquire weapons from friendly regional governments.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this month, Harroun said he was welcomed by al-Nusra.
“Getting into al-Nusra is not rocket science,” he said, according to Fox News. “It just takes balls and brains.”
A follow-up article published in Foreign Policy, written by the same reporters as the Fox News report, described the journalists’ curious interactions with Harroun, who is described as unpredictable, inconsistent and, at times, suddenly hostile.
“Pinning Harroun down is never easy,” the Foreign Policy article says. “At times he will provide very specific details about himself, while at other times he becomes more reserved, preferring to not comment or flat-out denying his previous statements – only to retract his retractions.”
The criminal complaint against Harroun says federal officials believe they have probable cause to believe Harroun “conspired to use a weapon of mass destruction,” meaning the RPG. He will remain in custody pending a preliminary hearing in early April, federal officials said.
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Well, this guy’s mercenary career is off to a bumpy start.
Posted by: AmericaThePitiful | March 28, 2013, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
Fox News demeaning a noble cause because he fought with the enemy? WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Posted by: Kenzie | March 28, 2013, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
What hollywood movie was he watching.
Posted by: almiltown | March 28, 2013, 6:56 pm 6:56 pm
STUPID!
Posted by: raymond clifford | March 28, 2013, 7:39 pm 7:39 pm
No charges will stick and he will walk. There is no law that says you can not fight in a foreign revolution. He also did not attack, claim to attack, or threaten US citizens or US security. Additionally, the claim that he “conspired to use a weapon of mass destruction,” meaning the RPG will also not stick, since US laws do not apply in foreign countries, so technically Syria would have to charge him for using an RPG. Now, if he did aid and assist Al-Nusra then it is a different story, but it appears he did no such thing other than fight against Asad, the same guy that we are covertly opposing. We are even providing weapons to the Syrian rebels.
Posted by: ihatepeople | March 28, 2013, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm
So are we backing the rebels or not? Who are the good rebels and who are the bad rebels? Are we making sure the weapons we are supplying are staying in the hands of the good rebels and not the bad ones? Civil wars are so confusing and all the more reason to stay out of them.
Posted by: Guest | March 28, 2013, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
Watch him, he has a bullet in his shirt pocket and a quick temper.
Posted by: Kevin | March 28, 2013, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm
What is wrong with the people in this county? This is a dictatorship disguised as a republic. If they arrest you that don’t need to try you, just lock you away for life and claim it as a matter of national security.
Posted by: Tom | March 28, 2013, 8:36 pm 8:36 pm
silly take on the matter. The guy was helping to oust Assad. Great! Whoever dreamed up the WMD charges is the one who needs his head examined. Assad is a thug, just like Saddam was (glad that dirtbag is gone), so more power to this guy.
Posted by: Mad Dog | March 28, 2013, 8:40 pm 8:40 pm
Traitor, hang him.
Posted by: David | March 28, 2013, 8:40 pm 8:40 pm
This guy is worse. Obama learn.
Posted by: newcountryman | March 28, 2013, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
Americans have a long history of being mercenaries, In both World Wars, before and after we entered, In Africa, and South and Central America, and now we have millions of combat veterans, once again the mercenary trade will be better than what they can get at home, because soldiers are not needed at home. Which is why soldiery is a profession and career, and should not be used just to get into school.
Posted by: Future Useful Idiot | March 28, 2013, 9:31 pm 9:31 pm
What a quagmire.
Posted by: Girish | March 28, 2013, 9:49 pm 9:49 pm
Obama has done worse……..
Posted by: bunnysaysitall | March 28, 2013, 9:56 pm 9:56 pm
This guy just did publicly what the US government is doing covertly, supporting the people fighting against Assad. I’m wondering what US law he is accused of breaking.
Posted by: Bob | March 28, 2013, 10:07 pm 10:07 pm
At least someone has the courage to go in and do the right thing. Send a few more in like him with no limitations( other than, say, no atrocities) and save 10 or 20,000 people and rid the world of one more of GW’s totalitarian buddies.
Posted by: Gunther | March 28, 2013, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
Thought he was “Hannibal” Smith!
Posted by: JLS1950 | March 28, 2013, 11:08 pm 11:08 pm
Once again, social media serves.
Posted by: pablo escabar | March 28, 2013, 11:51 pm 11:51 pm
He should consider himself lucky he isn’t dead, whether by Assad’s forces or a paranoid Al Nusra jihadi that thought he was CIA..
Posted by: J House | March 29, 2013, 12:21 am 12:21 am
I can’t believe you guys do not know who created Al Qaeda! Do a little research. There is a video or two out there of Hillary Clinton discussing it. Also a video of Zbigniew Brezinski bragging about it. The way of the present wars are through mercanaries. Dont just use main stream media as your only resource of information. For one, all mainstream media is good for is wagging the dog!
Posted by: Theresa Montz | March 29, 2013, 12:56 am 12:56 am
RPG meets neither the UN definition of WMD or the one the US uses.
Posted by: Elron Aven | March 29, 2013, 3:03 am 3:03 am
The US now reserves the right to take out this former US soldier with a drone. However, he is fighting to free Syria. But, he is with Al Qaeda. Why would any US soldier want to fight with men who have killed hundreds of US GIs?
Posted by: Bob | March 29, 2013, 7:08 am 7:08 am
Stupid Americans were still sending Him His Disability check form the VA in the Good Ole USA
Posted by: ranknfile | March 29, 2013, 8:14 am 8:14 am
In other words, the FBI can’t catch real terrorists, so they go after guys like this.
Posted by: Tyrone | March 29, 2013, 8:35 am 8:35 am
So which is it? Do we support the rebels, or do we call them terrorists?
Posted by: adam | March 29, 2013, 8:35 am 8:35 am
Obama supports them! Maybe we should also charge Obama .
Posted by: Hugh C Young | March 29, 2013, 10:24 am 10:24 am
Obama is also supporting them with weapons, training and money! Maybe we should look into why Obama’s not being charged with him.
Posted by: Hugh C Young | March 29, 2013, 10:27 am 10:27 am
Well, John McCain can be seen cavorting with al quaeda after an arms deal in Libya. And Hillary Clinton also supports mercenaries and they lie through their teeth. They need to keep people confused about who the “rebels” are and keep their agenda hidden because the corruption is so thick. The Saudis, the oil cartels, and Israel use sectarian differences to destabilize the area and take it over for global domination. There going to bump up against Russian/Chinese and other blocs eventually if they aren’t already, Widespread global war, world war, global suicide is in the making. This guy will walk. I sense a news spin here that is meant to be used as a catalyst to stoke up populist support for arming the Syrian “rebels” and for furthering the imperialism of corporate cartels and monopoly. These war mongers can not be negotiated with. They’re hell bent on war, destruction, genocide, and the people, the common working person suffers, not just in the war zone, but economically in those countries of the west perpetuating the plunder of national wealth in the trillions to support these monopolies who act as rogue entities without borders, morals or laws.
Posted by: Scoop | March 29, 2013, 10:28 am 10:28 am