While I am on record that some of their language is harmful to the long-range strategic messaging campaign against violent Islamist butchers this is worth a read.

You can’t solve a problem you don’t understand.

“Some of the returnees, no doubt, were disillusioned by the brutal experience of life under the bloodthirsty rule of the Islamic State’s merciless application of its interpretation of Islamic governance, although some foreign fighters enthusiastically participated in its bar- barities. Some were traumatized by the savage warfare that marked its defeat. Yet some escaped with their commitment intact, determined to carry on the jihad. As this book illustrates, the recruiters for future jihads arise from past jihadist campaigns.

This excellent volume examines the experience of the American jihadists in Syria and Iraq.”

The Travelers

GW Program on Extremism