The American Jihadist: Eric Harroun In His Own Words

I came across this video and i found it to be very interesting .

since i first found out about Eric Harroun i have watched him closely. i think my obsession stems from the fact that He is an American convert like my self and i was curious to know why he chose to go to Syria for Jihad .

i was always under the impression that he had be a victim of extremist Ideology.

I was wrong ...




after watching the video , and learning that he didn't go to Syria because he was indoctrinated by extremist Ideology.

I find that his story now is an even bigger mystery .

i don't want to spoil the video for everyone but i think Eric might have been the product of something we might not ever understand ..

the Rabbit hole seems to have gotten deeper.


humbly

LSH

a reply to: LightningStrikesHere


It's good he came back alive. But it is OK that America sent soldiers into Iraq to defeat America's number one enemy at the cost of so many innocent lives and still a war lingers on.

This young man of the you tube generation is just a psychological mess.
He just allowed himself to be used without knowing what the hell he was doing.
It’s a sad story

People need to understand the psychology of what they are doing and never act hastily

Sounds like he was a victim of the western propaganda machine .Willing to kill people he didn't know and for reasons he probably never figured out . Too bad , My condolences to his loved ones .

a reply to: Willtell

What are you talking about?
How was he a psychological mess?
How was he being used?

a reply to: the2ofusr1

How was he a victim of the propaganda machine?

He said he fought for freedom and democracy, and those fighting for that as well are who he fought with, for the most part. As he said sometimes things aren't as black and white over there and he couldn't be sure one hundred percent of the time. Sounds to me like he was just a guy who had some moving experiences in Egypt and chose to go back to the ME and help fight for what he apparently believed in. Freedom and democracy.

Based off of this video I see nothing wrong with what this guy did. It wouldn't surprise me if his mysterious death was due to some "psychological mess" believing he was an actual Jihad terrorist. Which he clearly wasn't.

I would appreciate it if both of you guys could expand on your points of view.

Thanks



Edit: For the record, this is the first I've heard about Eric Harroun. There may be other information about him I am not aware of.

originally posted by: the2ofusr1
Sounds like he was a victim of the western propaganda machine .Willing to kill people he didn't know and for reasons he probably never figured out . Too bad , My condolences to his loved ones .

this was something that i really thought about ....

sad story ...

a reply to: WakeUpBeer

His actions and words speak for themselves.

Joining this war without even hardly knowing who he was fighting with and fighting for.

The western propaganda machine first vilifies who they want destroyed .Weather the CIA installed Saddam Hussein in Iraq who later wouldn't tow the Washington line . He decided he didn't want to sell Oil in USD and paid the price .Never mind the propaganda of WMD . Then there was Gadafie in Libya . When he decided to create a African union and a currency he was stepping on the toes of the IMF and the USD . Then there is Syria .Propaganda of using chemical weapons which was western propaganda . Now it's evil Putin . They (the west) are loosing the ability to get people to believe their BS and this guy was a victim of that BS .Syria had their elections despite the west meddling in their country and creating this new ISUS group . Freedom fighter yea right . a reply to: WakeUpBeer

a reply to: Willtell

Again, he knew what he was fighting for. He states as much in the video. Freedom and democracy. I wouldn't say he hardly knew who he was fighting with. He just wasn't sure who all he was fighting with all the time. Not because of any lack of intelligence or caring on his part, but because the ME is literally a mess. Hence him saying people don't understand it's not as black and white over there as they think. There is a lot of gray area and I'm sure there were times where he had to use his best judgement. He certainly wasn't psychologically manipulated guns blazing American like it seems you may think.

So I ask again, can you actually expand on why you think he was a manipulated psychological mess?

Saying his actions and words speak for themselves really says nothing about how you came to your point of view. Obviously we both watched the same video and came to different conclusions about the man.

a reply to: WakeUpBeer

He thought he was fighting for it but found out he was involved in something more complex.

I don't make a federal case out of this. Its a sad story of a young man who got caught up in a tricky issue.

How tricky it is is that ISIL is the group he would have ended up fighting with if he stayed

a reply to: the2ofusr1

Technically everyone is the victim of propaganda in some way, shape or form.

Show me the propaganda that made this guy seek out the ME.

Are we 100% certain Syria had a fair and balanced vote?

They may not have had one .Most are quite sure that the US can barley claim to have and if half of what has happened in Canada is true then we sure don't have them . a reply to: WakeUpBeer

a reply to: Willtell

Which may be why he decided to leave after six weeks.

I'm not trying to make a federal case out of this either. I'm just surprised this guy is being demonized. You can't fight for what you believe in, under some circumstances apparently. Everything has to have an agenda or conspiracy attached to it. There is no way an American citizen would go fight in the middle east.

Tell me, do you feel our American troops are psychological messes being used, to stupid to understand? Or is it different?

a reply to: LightningStrikesHere


I also see nothing wrong with what Eric did, recklessness of youth aside. When was the last time any of us volunteered to lay our lives on the line for what we believe in versus what the propaganda hive tells us to believe? This guy, he went over there and fought without membership in any military, in a very liquid situation where an unknown enemy or any member of his unit for that matter could have zapped him at any moment. I think that if he'd been over there with Blackwater or Aegis MEP pulling down a couple hundred grand for trigger time on a convoy, not a single American would have batted an eye. This young man was a combat idealist, not a mercenary. That's what really seems to frighten people about his actions.

a reply to: the2ofusr1

So the possibility exists that he was fighting with people who have a legit problem with their government, who want real freedom and democracy! Just like he says he was fighting for! The world gives US crap all the time for voting in this or that baddie, and as you said, most are sure the US can't claim to have a fair and balanced voting machine. As a member of ATS you are no doubt aware that there are also plenty of Americans out there ready and willing to take up arms against the tyranny. Just like many of those in the ME have done.

I disagree with him on a personal level.. but if he went to fight for his beliefs I can respect that and hope he found what he was searching for.

He along with other fighters from outside Syria believe they were freeing the Syrian people .Most of the fighters he was fighting with were the ones that fought in Libya to free them .How is that working ? a reply to: WakeUpBeer

a reply to: the2ofusr1

All I'm saying is that this guy shouldn't be demonized for fighting for freedom and democracy. Whether or not he actually was makes little difference because he wholeheartedly believed he was (at least it would seem so in my current opinion). I went and found a larger piece on him, also by VICE.

The All-American Life and Death of Eric Harroun

After learning more about the guy it's easy to see where better decisions could have been made. I don't agree with all his actions now. I said before, "Based off of this video I see nothing wrong with what this guy did", but after doing a little foot-work, a few things stand out. I still defend him fighting for freedom and democracy, though he could have gone about it in less controversial ways.

Maybe he wasn't looking at the larger picture, or didn't understand it. Maybe he just got caught up in the emotion, and excitement of protest. I don't think he was a terrorist, or aiding terrorism intentionally. Just a product of his environment and surroundings it seems.

I still don't understand all the hate this guy gets.

For example you said he was a victim of the propaganda machine. You could make the same argument for the soldiers in our armed forces. Are they not pawns in the same game? You don't really need to answer that. I think we both would agree it's a more complex issue than people just being pawns or not.

I guess my point is. What's the difference if he was a pawn of western propaganda or had just joined the armed forces and became their pawn?

I just wish all these dumb wars would end...

originally posted by: LightningStrikesHere
I

i think my obsession stems from the fact that He is an American convert like my self

You make it too easy.

Goodbye

a reply to: WakeUpBeer

I haven't watched the video yet but I will say this. Islamic Jihadi's don't fight for democracy, it is a contradiction to Islamic faith. Why would a God fearing Muslim fight for a Godless Western Political system? It's stupid. God is the Law in Islam, not some corrupt sugarcoated bs story from the West.