Some are military veterans looking to settle unfinished scores; others are an eccentric breed of war tourist seeking a thrill. “I’ve always hated capitalism and materialism,” said Warren Stoddard, a 24-year-old from San Marcos, Tex., who joined the same infantry squad as Mr. Pugh. He said he weighed two options for what to do next: a cross-country motorcycle trip, or taking up arms in Syria. More recently, John Walker Lindh, an American who joined the Taliban before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was captured in Afghanistan, prosecuted in the United States and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Senior American military officials, including Special Operations troops who have served in Syria, said they viewed the American volunteers there as somewhere between a curiosity and a nuisance on the battlefield.

Source: New York Times February 16, 2019 09:56 UTC