The majority of those leaving the U.S. for Iraq and Syria are fighting against ISIS instead of for it, a Voice of America report estimated Thursday.
The conclusion by reporter Jeff Seldin was extrapolated from a report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in London, court records, and intelligence and law enforcement information.
About 250 have sought to participate in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, Seldin reported from law enforcement and intelligence officials, while the ISD report had 114, or roughly 46 percent, coming from the U.S. to fight against ISIS.
Seldin added a number of those intending to fight for ISIS have never made it, including 47 potential foreign fighters who have been arrested on ISIS-related offenses, according to the George Washington University Program on Extremism. That put the ratio fighting against ISIS at a majority.
"That pathway is fairly well-trodden; the scale of it surprised us a little bit," said ISD policy and research manager Henry Tuck, who co-authored "Shooting in the Right Direction: Anti-ISIS Foreign Fighters in Syria & Iraq."
Leaving the U.S. to fight in Syria and Iraq is not illegal, Seldin wrote, but the State Department did issue this advisory:
"Private U.S. citizens are strongly discouraged from traveling to Syria to take part in the conflict. The U.S. government does not support this activity."
Fighting against ISIS might not necessarily represent any threat to U.S. security, but escalating tensions abroad do, according to a former intelligence officer.
"We don't like any ad hoc foreign fighting," Patrick Skinner of the Soufan Group, which provides intelligence to governments, told Seldin. "It's less the specific cause and more the general passion and armed militancy.
"The rising tide of extremism on all sides lifts all dangerous boats."
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