Defecting From ISIS.

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — It took the deaths of innocent men, women, and children, right before his eyes, for one extremist fighter to turn against his comrades-in-arms.

The 26-year-old Syrian — who fights under the nom de guerre Abu Omar — was a seasoned soldier in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, the militant group now at the center of U.S. airstrikes.

But before the group entered America’s crosshairs, it faced an internal war from other rebels in Syria. Those rebels turned on ISIS — which is dominated by foreigners at its top levels, but counts many Syrians among its ranks — early this year, citing its brutality against locals. They accused ISIS of caring more about imposing its extreme brand of Islam on Syrians than fighting the regime.

Abu Omar believed in ISIS, though, seeing it as a force for freedom from the Bashar al-Assad regime, and one that also upheld his conservative religious values. When ISIS began to fight other rebel groups, his commanders told him it was because those rebels were against both Islam and the Syrian revolution. Abu Omar believed them.

Then he took a short vacation in his home village in the province of Idlib one day this spring. While he was relaxing at home, ISIS began to attack the village, which was guarded by a local rebel group that wanted to keep it free from the extremists’ control. Rebels and civilians alike were killed in the bloodshed — including children from Abu Omar’s own extended family.

Suddenly he believed the worst of the allegations swirling around ISIS — that it was primarily concerned not with overthrowing the regime but with bending those Syrians living in opposition-held territory to its will, whatever the cost.

In a rage, he placed a phone call to his commander. “Innocent people have been killed,” he said.

read more at
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/why-one-man-defected-from-isis-then-went-to-war-against-it-i#4a8vgew

Very interesting article..
It shows how the war of hearts and minds on the ground in being Lost by ISIS, without western intervention their Evil and extremism is turning even some of it own soldiers.

Despite U.S.-led efforts to combat ISIS in Syria, it may be people like Abu Omar who determine how much the fight succeeds — those who have decided to leave ISIS, or even turn against it, because of the cold-blooded extremism they’ve seen with their own eyes.

International recriminations of ISIS did nothing to turn Abu Omar against it — he was wary even of having a U.S. journalist join him for lunch.

I still wouldn't put any trust in an ISIS turncoat...

THEY were originally well prepared to sellout their own country, family, and "faith", when they headed off on the careless and selfish "adventure" of fighting in a criminal gang in another country's wars..

THE only way that I would "retire" any of them is with a bullet.   How could any of those recruits ever be trusted again ?    

@LW
FOR STARTERS the guy is a SYRIAN so a local who's country has been turned upside down.
read the article and it shows how locals saw ISIS(when the revolution started against Bashar) and how they are now seeing ISIS

Originally they came in against Bashar al-Assad and many Syrians joined because they wanted to be free of Bashar .
it is only after areas are freed of Bashar that ISIS started the Extreme Religious Doctrine and revealed that the leadership is largely NOT Syrian and rather than fighting with other rebels, started fighting against them to impose their Extreme Religious doctrine.

Abu Omar believed in ISIS, though, seeing it as a force for freedom from the Bashar al-Assad regime, and one that also upheld his conservative religious values. When ISIS began to fight other rebel groups, his commanders told him it was because those rebels were against both Islam and the Syrian revolution. Abu Omar believed them.

It is not at all unlikely that what they are saying is True oppressed people will obviously flock to a group they see standing up for their freedom. it's the old Bait and Switch because once they held territory they Started their own oppression Which is not what the Syrian people wanted.

that it was primarily concerned not with overthrowing the regime but with bending those Syrians living in opposition-held territory to its will, whatever the cost.

And PS he has already been shot Fighting ISIS and is now part of one of the other rebel groups fighting against ISIS trying to recruit others to fight ISIS.
He has already done more Against ISIS than any of us sitting behind a screen.

If the West wants boots on the ground that are not our own then it is men like him we need.

Agreed. I'd far more trust someone brought up in the culture and who'd seen the brutality with his own eyes -- and had his mind changed -- than a few hundred GIs from Iowa, New Jersey, etc. to help bring down ISIS.