“The Pakistani Taliban have set up camps and sent hundreds of men to Syria to fight alongside rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, militants said on Sunday, in a strategy aimed at cementing ties with al Qaeda’s central leadership. More than two years since the start of the anti-Assad rebellion, Syria has become a magnet for foreign Sunni fighters who have flocked to the Middle Eastern nation to join what they see as a holy war against Shi’ite oppressors. Operating alongside militant groups such as the al Nusra Front, described by the United States as a branch of al Qaeda, they mainly come from nearby countries such as Libya and Tunisia riven by similar conflict as a result of the Arab Spring……………….”

It was a natural step, given the variety of Arab, Chechen, Bosnian, and other cutthroats fighting the regime and each other in Syria. With Al-Qaeda and several of its franchises doing what they consider God’s murder in Syria, it was only a matter of time before the Taliban showed up.

Or maybe it is a trick by the Pakistani Taliban to drag Mr. Obama into the Syrian trap. It is no secret that the Taliban love Mr. Obama about as much as they would love any Shi’a ayatollah (which is slightly less than they approve of a bare-faced woman who can read). Given that the drones are attacking gatherings in Pakistan on a regular basis, it is natural for the Taliban to expect the drones to also enter the fray in Syria. On the other hand, that may fall in nicely with some neoconservatives who have been pushing for the US to bomb someone or something or somewhere in Syria. After all, drone bombing is still a from of bombing. It beats no bombing.
Cheers
mhg