The New York Times conveys broad and increasing concerns over the infiltration of Syrian rebel forces by Al Qaeda-linked elements, as the U.S. State Department prepares on Tuesday to issue a statement declaring that the Jabhat al-Nusra front which recently seized a military base in northern Syria is a front group for Al Qaeda in Iraq. The statement lays the ground work for designating Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist entity. The group’s recent military successes highlight the degree to which U.S. and allied options are constrained in approaching the Syrian conflict, which threatens to escalate from being a proxy war between regional Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds mostly confined within Syria’s border, and into a full-blown regional conflict.