Recruiting fighters for Syrian jihadist groups

[xf4wso]

A recent article in the Turkish daily "Radikal" describes how Syrian jihadist groups are recruiting young men in Turkey to fight in Syria. Some families have tried to get their children back - they generally can if the price is right. The article also claims that Turkish authorities are aware of this activity in southeastern Turkey, but appear unwilling to interfere at this point.

Seems like a potential way for the conflict to spread...

http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/r...konustuadiyaman___suriye_cihat_hatti-1152993#

 

[RackMaster]

I think the spread of that conflict is inevitable. Someone is will need to go in and sweep up the mess.

 

[texaspete]

Article on Mali being a breeding ground.
Cnn article on Pakistani Taliban going to Syria
Difference between the western backed opposition and the jihadists

I've been following the Syrian Conflict fairly closely over the past couple months, and not just because we were about to go to war with them.

The Syrian conflict has quite a few components to take into account. One on hand you have a civil war between the opposition and the "legitimate" government, but much like any country in the Middle East there is the religious aspect to consider. The government is identified as a Shia sect (which is backed by Hezbollah and the Iranian's), while a majority of the insurgents/jihadists are Sunni (al-Qaida, Taliban, and some of the Opposition). So essentially it comes down to the same problems we ran into in Iraq, you have a majority population controlled and oppressed by the minority, but this time there are a lot more externals backing up the minority.