Why Does the Pakistani Taliban Want to Draw in the U.S.?

The Justice Department says that the Times Square bombing attempt last month can be traced straight back to the Taliban in Pakistan, according to Josh Gerstein at Politico.

Apparently, Faisal Shahzad of Times Square, not to be confused with the hundreds of other likely very nice Faisal Shahzads of the world, was found by investigators to have been most likely trained in Waziristan, Pakistan, with the Tehrik-i-Taliban. Hakimullah Mehsud, one of the leaders of this umbrella group for Taliban militias in the region, called for attacks on the U.S. in this video, among other media.

To prevent this kind of thing, isn't it vital to understand why they would wish to bomb New York? Okay, so the leaders and planners are likely sociopaths cloaked in religious language trying to kill us, and unlikely to ever "talk it out." But why would their peers fund, consent, or volunteer, not just to attack America, but to potentially widen the scale of the war they're embroiled in?

One motivation for the Pakistani Taliban to want to hit New York is for revenge. But could they expect any reaction other than the U.S. dramatically increasing its drone strikes on their hideouts? Could they want to draw the U.S. into Pakistan proper, complicating their bid to carve out an autonomous zone?

Probably the most likely reason for the Times Square attack is not the same as al-Qaeda's in 9/11, but more like Hamas' old attacks in Israel's cafe zone. They are so blinded with rage that, unable to strike at the original culprits they accuse for their suffering, they feel they can only get to them by hitting a third party. The argument among the terror-wielders is that what they do is no different from the way the West uses artillery. I don't agree with that exactly, but there is a kind of sad logic in that theory which reminds us how vital it is to reduce civilian casualties across the board regardless of whether a military operation follows humanitarian law or not.

Photo credit: Todd Huffman (Pakistani bullet)