Clarissa Ward: Many Western jihadists smarter than you think
CBS News foreign correspondent Clarissa Ward answered viewers' questions on Facebook Wednesday about an American jihadist and other Westerners fighting in Syria in the name of jihad.
On Tuesday, Ward introduced the "CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley" audience to former Dutch soldier Yilmaz, who traded his life in Holland to battle Bashar Assad's forces in Syria. Yilmaz also introduced Ward to a Somali-American jihadist from the United States.
He calls himself Ibn Zubayr, and he fights with Jabhat al-Nusra, an al Qaeda affiliate that was targeted by U.S. airstrikes in Syria just two weeks ago. Speaking to Ward, who sneaked into Syria to meet the fighters after months of negotiations, Zubayr warned that those airstrikes could lead to revenge attacks against America.
In Wednesday's chat, a viewer asked Ward if the fighters she encountered seemed like they were easy to control or manipulate.
"A lot of them are actually smart and well educated and articulate guys," Ward wrote in response. "Some of them had good jobs back home. But there's a degree of brainwashing that goes on, online and of course once they're inside, that is very difficult to penetrate."
Wednesday's chat can be seen below.