Hamas in Syria and the Global Jihad

An important story from Long War Journal about Palestinians, including former Hamas operatives, who are playing a leading role in Syria. This quote,  from an Al Monitor piece about Salafis in Gaza cited by LWJ caught my eye:

A source close to the family told me that Qunayta was openly affiliated with al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. However, his membership was suspended during the last period of his life, because he traveled to Syria and joined the ranks of jihadists. Still, the movement handled his funeral service, out of respect for his history.

I also spoke with Hamas’ spokesperson, Sami Abou Zahri, over the phone. Zahri emphasized that Hamas does not interfere in any Arab or Islamic affairs. Although it stands by the Syrian people in fulfilling their will, it does not consider itself part of the conflict.

It makes me think. If a U.S. Special Forces operator were killed in action after having left the army and going to work as a “contractor”,  many would suspect (not unreasonably) that he’d been working on behalf of the CIA. In other words same goal, just a different (deniable) outfit. There’d be no definitive evidence, of course, but that’d be the suspicion.

Yet some how translated into an Islamic context, and this scenario is likely to be read by the State Department and in many mainstream media outlets as Hamas being more “moderate” than their counterparts like the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

I suppose this is the difference between actually understanding the concept of a “Global Jihadist Movement”, and using it in your Worldwide Threat Assessment as a snazzy synonym for Al Qaeda.