Aspen Ideas Festival

What Turns a Skater Kid from Colorado into a Fighter for ISI

Tens of thousands of men and women have left comfortable, privileged lives to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—and kill for it. The highest-ranking American currently fighting for ISIS is John Georgelas, a Texan whose dad was a US Air Force colonel. Who are the Westerners who join ISIS? Where do they come from? What do they believe? And most importantly, what can we do to stop them?

What Turns a Skater Kid from Colorado into a Fighter for ISI

1h 2m

Tens of thousands of men and women have left comfortable, privileged lives to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—and kill for it. The highest-ranking American currently fighting for ISIS is John Georgelas, a Texan whose dad was a US Air Force colonel. Who are the Westerners who join ISIS? Where do they come from? What do they believe? And most importantly, what can we do to stop them?

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