Posted on 09/01/2011 2:56:05 PM PDT by sinanju
"..Why is he here?
“This is one of the few real revolutions,” he said. “I just thought I’d come check it out.”
It’s an unusual summer break for a college student, especially for a math major at University of California, Los Angeles, who says he spent his last spring break in Quebec. But Mr. Jeon is near the front lines of a conflict that has already taken thousands of lives, and is likely to cost many more if rebels launch a planned assault on Mr. Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte.
Jeon doesn’t seem worried.
“I just go and see what happens,” he said. “At spring break I told my friends a 'sick' vacation would be to come here and fight with the rebels.”
He spent $800 on a one-way ticket from L.A. to Cairo, then traveled by land across the border into Libya, where he has now been for nearly two weeks. His parents do not know he is here. He speaks no Arabic, and has been staying with fighters and families in the area.
“I haven’t spent a dollar in weeks,” he says, because the people of Libya have extended such hospitality.
He has no way of contact with the outside world, and on Tuesday was unsure of the date. Yet he seemed to be having the time of his life.
At the rebel checkpoint about 80 miles from Sirte, he held a Russian-made shotgun the rebels had given him, appearing to be unfamiliar with it. Then a rebel handed him an AK-47, and he awkwardly fired several rounds into the air. The fighters cheered and laughed before quickly taking the gun back..."
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
And yet, the moment he gets captured he will calling for us to bail his immature butt out.
Reading between the lines, I think it obvious he hasn’t been anywhere near where the lead is flying.
He seems to make a cute mascot, however.
An excellent adventure, at least till he inadvertently gets himself between two warring factions that may agree in opposing Daffy but also hate each others’ guts. Then the only welcome mat he sees will be to the grave.
I would think the rebels would find him useful to draw fire and determine whether there are any enemy snipers in a particular suspected area.
Yeah, we may very well have to risk someone elses life to get this dumb ass out eventually.
I have a family member in Egypt right now, working. Wouldn’t catch me over there.
Wanna bet his parents are not Republicans?
Moron kid. Real war is NOT a game - go back to video games.
I bet he doesn’t live to tell about it.
Wow! How stupid can you be? Some people can’t distinguish between video games and real life. Even though he’s a complete tool, I hope he makes it back in one piece. Maybe, one day he will realize how foolish his vacation really was.
“His parents do not know he is here.” They do now, Smarts! Looking at the article, there’s his picture, front and center.
This sort of thing has always been fairly common.
There have always been “war tourists”. People of a certain mind have always been drawn to wars. Some have attended the festivities in some official capacity, often quite absurdly contrived. Others have just shown up.
Some of these cases have been the source of great literature. Some of this adventurism has likewise been the subject of great literature. The Iliad is full of “war tourists”, many of whom come to bad ends.
The most famous ones, probably, were Lord Byron and Winston Churchill. Byron didn’t survive his attendance on the Greek War of Independence. There are plenty of others.
I don’t fault this kid too much. He may get killed, but he walks in an ancient tradition. We will certainly have stories to tell.
Indeed. Albeit “war tourist” is a broad category. That can include aid workers, freelance journalists as well as those who feel compelled to participate in the fighting and killing.
“Mercenary” doesn’t really suit them, because this is the subset of fighters who’d happily do it for free if there weren’t someone paying them. Quite a lot of ink has been spilled on such characters over the centuries. Numerous of them have written of their own adventures as well. They usually prefer to attach themselves to a righteous cause as evil men tend to be cowards and psychos tend to make lousy soldiers.
This kid is definitely a tourist, if he was really there to fight he would be fighting not giving interviews and would probably prefer nobody back home knew about it.
American (young) liberals are nuts! And who’s parent would let their college kid go to the front lines of a war (without being a soldier) or a humanitarian aid worker (or possibly journalist)?
FOR VACATION; this kid is nuts!
Ernie Hemingway turned out okay.
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