The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

NYC Bomb Suspect Faisal Shahzad Arrested at JFK; Glenn Beck Still at Large

Posted on | May 4, 2010 | 29 Comments

The arrest was announced overnight:

A U.S. citizen from Pakistan accused of driving a bomb-laden SUV into Times Square and parking it on a street lined with restaurants and Broadway theaters was to appear in court Tuesday to face charges for his failed attempt to set off a massive fireball and kill Americans, federal authorities said.
The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was taken into custody late Monday by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives while trying to leave the country, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials. He was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding a flight to Dubai, Holder said early Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing.

More news in a minute, but first to explain the joke in the headline. Monday morning, liberal blogger Susie Madrak at Crooks & Liars wrote:

You know, I don’t want to jump to conclusions here, because that would make me too much like Matt Drudge. But if the car bomber was indeed a white guy in his 40s who didn’t know the difference between ammonium nitrate and plain old fertilizer, I’m thinking it’s gotta be a Beck Patriot who was trying to water the tree of liberty with… the blood of random Times Square tourists. . . .
Ah, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s a Limbaugh listener.

It may be a bit early to rule that out, I suppose, but Madrak is still trying to externalize blame, implying that it was “wingnuts” who were guilty of a rush to judgment.

UPDATE: OK, so the bomb suspect isn’t a right-wing teabagger. What do we know about the guy? Via Hot Air Headlines, here’s NBC News:

Law enforcement officials said Shahzad bought the SUV that was parked in Times Square on Saturday from a Connecticut man three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
NBC’s Pete Williams earlier reported the man’s name was on an e-mail that was sent to the seller of the car last month. . . .
The Times also reported that Kevin B. Barry, an official with the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, said the attempted bomber had left many leads for detectives to follow.
“He was trying to cover his tracks, but he left more clues than a guy walking into a bank to rob it without a mask. This guy left everything here but his wallet,” Barry said. . . .

UPDATE II: Chris Renner:

The fact that the truck was parked at the front door of the Viacom building (Viacom owns Comedy Central) should strongly suggest, to anyone with a modicum of sense, that the recent South Park controversy might have had something to do with this.

Note that the category “anyone with a modicum of sense” excludes Susie Madrak. Also via Renner, Dan Riehl has more on Faisal Shahzad’s Internet activity. Dan links Tammy Bruce for this detail:

Shahzad’s flight to Dubai had left the gate and was headed toward the runway when authorities discovered that he was on board and wanted. He was removed from the plane and taken into custody, an official said.

Close call.

UPDATE III: Gateway Pundit was blogging early on the arrest, and Ed Driscoll rounds up the reaction, including Andy Levy’s Tweet to NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg:

“Please find out what Shahzad Faisal has against health care reform. Our city is counting on you!”

And to explain that joke, here’s video via Brent Baker at Newsbusters:

UPDATE IV: Heh. Now the #2 Google result for “JKF plane suspects.” More blogging from Left Coast Rebel, Weasel Zippers, Wizbang, Yid With Lid and RedState.

UPDATE V: A potentially significant detail from the Wall Street Journal:

A person briefed on the case by law enforcement said investigators found forensic evidence—a fingerprint on one of the propane tanks — belonging to a man of Middle Eastern origin in the bomb-laden SUV.
This person said authorities have identified the man, but weren’t releasing that information while they try to locate him.

Does “Middle Eastern origin” encompass Pakistan, or is this a second suspect? Oh, and the bylines on the WSJ report include Devlin Barrett. Ring a bell? As an Associated Press reporter last year, Barrett was responsible for inspiring the misguided “anti-government sentiment” speculation in the Sparkman case — which turned out to be a suicide staged as a fake hate crime.

UPDATE VI: NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly:

“We didn’t want the press to do the investigation. You know, you’d all like to get involved in the case and solve it for us. We appreciate that, but this is what law enforcement has to do.”

This is an important point. Reporters understandably want to get as much of the story as soon as possible, but criminal investigation is a job for the police. And the mayor isn’t exactly a CSI forensic expert:

Mayor Bloomberg is that most dangerous variety of idiot — the idiot who believes himself the smartest man in the room.

Not to get too far ahead of the investigation or engage in unwarranted speculation, but if Faisal Shahzad isn’t pissed off about health care, what could possibly be his motive? Perhaps he’s a religious extremist — one of those “Christianists” Andrew Sullivan is constantly warning us about? Or maybe one of those “anti-science creationists” who so alarm Charles Johnson?

IT’S THE JIHAD STUPID!

Hater.

Category: New York, Pakistan, Terrorism

Comments

29 Responses to “NYC Bomb Suspect Faisal Shahzad Arrested at JFK; Glenn Beck Still at Large”

  1. Virginia Right! News Hound for 5/4/2010 | Virginia Right!
    May 4th, 2010 @ 5:47 am

    […] NYC Bomb Suspect Faisal Shahzad Arrested at JFK; Glenn Beck Still at Large […]

  2. wirejerk
    May 4th, 2010 @ 12:44 pm

    sprayed coffee all over my keyboard. Great tagline!!!! tip jar hit…

  3. wirejerk
    May 4th, 2010 @ 7:44 am

    sprayed coffee all over my keyboard. Great tagline!!!! tip jar hit…

  4. Times Square bomb suspect arrested, Mayor Bloomberg hardest hit « The Daley Gator
    May 4th, 2010 @ 7:54 am

    […] arrested Yes, despite Mayor Bloomberg pointing his finger at Tea Partiers, the suspect is a Pakistani-American who was, trying to leave the country. HMMMM A Pakistani-born U.S. citizen accused of trying to […]

  5. NYC Times Square Car Bomb: Latest News on ‘One-Off’ ‘Lone Wolf’ Faisal Shazad : The Other McCain
    May 4th, 2010 @ 8:01 am

    […] off that Dubai flight?TIMES SQUARE BOMB SUSPECT ARRESTED; MAYOR BLOOMBERG HARDEST HITPREVIOUSLY:NYC Bomb Suspect Faisal Shahzad Arrested at JFK; Glenn Beck Still at LargeHateful Racist Teabagger from Pakistan? var addthis_pub='smitty1e';var addthis_language='en';var […]

  6. LibertarianAdvocate
    May 4th, 2010 @ 1:11 pm

    Not at all a surprise that weasel Mayor-for-Life Bloomberg would happily credit this terror plot to a “home grown” person with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill. To his credit, he did say “it could be anything.” And it was: A Muslim naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin.

    Perhaps a better personal PR strategy is to STFU until the suspect is in custody and the investigation is complete. Then again, maybe not. By doing what you did, you betrayed your prejudices.

  7. LibertarianAdvocate
    May 4th, 2010 @ 8:11 am

    Not at all a surprise that weasel Mayor-for-Life Bloomberg would happily credit this terror plot to a “home grown” person with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill. To his credit, he did say “it could be anything.” And it was: A Muslim naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin.

    Perhaps a better personal PR strategy is to STFU until the suspect is in custody and the investigation is complete. Then again, maybe not. By doing what you did, you betrayed your prejudices.

  8. On Car Bombs and Journalistic Boobs
    May 4th, 2010 @ 12:40 pm

    […] the story (and there will be more to this story coming, I’m confident) with Michelle Malkin, Stacy McCain, and Liberty Pundits. I also recommend these posts on SuperGenius Bloomberg’s detective work […]

  9. Bob Belvedere
    May 4th, 2010 @ 12:52 pm

    Linked to at:
    The Left Bombs…Bigtime

  10. Bob Belvedere
    May 4th, 2010 @ 5:52 pm

    Linked to at:
    The Left Bombs…Bigtime

  11. The Blog Post Title Of The Month*… « The Camp Of The Saints
    May 4th, 2010 @ 1:16 pm

    […] The Blog Post Title Of The Month*… 04 May 2010 @ 14:15 by bobbelvedere …is awarded to Stacy McCain for this one he came up with regarding the hunt for the Times Square Bomber: […]

  12. Lipton T. Bagg
    May 4th, 2010 @ 6:27 pm

    But one thing Dan Riehl got wrong, is that this knuckle-head should NOT receive Miranda rights.

    http://viewedfromtheright.blogspot.com/2010/05/dan-riehl-misses-big-on-miranda-rights.html

    -LTB

  13. Lipton T. Bagg
    May 4th, 2010 @ 1:27 pm

    But one thing Dan Riehl got wrong, is that this knuckle-head should NOT receive Miranda rights.

    http://viewedfromtheright.blogspot.com/2010/05/dan-riehl-misses-big-on-miranda-rights.html

    -LTB

  14. Susie Madrak
    May 4th, 2010 @ 1:40 pm

    From the Balloon Juice lexicon:

    “Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.” – In 2000, WSJ pundit and sometimes paid Republican operative Peggy Noonan introduced a potentially explosive, unverifiable rumor that Bill Clinton was being blackmailed by Fidel Castro into the mainstream media, using the phrase “Is it irresponsible to speculate?… It would be irresponsible not to.” The blatant dishonesty of this ratfucking attempt immediately turned it into an Internet meme signifying a personal attack, usually wildly untrue, launched under a cloak of sanctimony: “Does Candidate Trollypants bite the heads off live, underaged, rabid bats? It would be irresponsible not to speculate!”

    You people aren’t too swift, are you? My post was a satire on… right-wing blog posts. You folks never fail to miss the joke.

  15. Susie Madrak
    May 4th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm

    From the Balloon Juice lexicon:

    “Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.” – In 2000, WSJ pundit and sometimes paid Republican operative Peggy Noonan introduced a potentially explosive, unverifiable rumor that Bill Clinton was being blackmailed by Fidel Castro into the mainstream media, using the phrase “Is it irresponsible to speculate?… It would be irresponsible not to.” The blatant dishonesty of this ratfucking attempt immediately turned it into an Internet meme signifying a personal attack, usually wildly untrue, launched under a cloak of sanctimony: “Does Candidate Trollypants bite the heads off live, underaged, rabid bats? It would be irresponsible not to speculate!”

    You people aren’t too swift, are you? My post was a satire on… right-wing blog posts. You folks never fail to miss the joke.

  16. RebeccaH
    May 4th, 2010 @ 11:41 pm

    Spoken in true lefty pottyspeak, Susie.

  17. RebeccaH
    May 4th, 2010 @ 6:41 pm

    Spoken in true lefty pottyspeak, Susie.

  18. Bob Belvedere
    May 4th, 2010 @ 11:50 pm

    Mzz. Madrak: we did not miss the joke because we did not miss you.

    Now hurry up with that coffee, sweetheart. And make sure it’s fresh this time . . .

  19. Bob Belvedere
    May 4th, 2010 @ 6:50 pm

    Mzz. Madrak: we did not miss the joke because we did not miss you.

    Now hurry up with that coffee, sweetheart. And make sure it’s fresh this time . . .

  20. Noel
    May 5th, 2010 @ 12:02 am

    Why can’t this administration administer a No-Fly List?

    The only thing on Obama’s No-Fly List is the F-22.

    And the F136
    And SDI missiles.
    And ICBMs.
    And Israeli jets.
    And the Constellation Moon Rockets

    Umar Abdulmutallab and Faisal Shahzad? Not so much.

  21. Noel
    May 4th, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

    Why can’t this administration administer a No-Fly List?

    The only thing on Obama’s No-Fly List is the F-22.

    And the F136
    And SDI missiles.
    And ICBMs.
    And Israeli jets.
    And the Constellation Moon Rockets

    Umar Abdulmutallab and Faisal Shahzad? Not so much.

  22. CGHill
    May 5th, 2010 @ 12:47 am

    The last person who could get away with “That’s a joke, son” wasn’t a person: he was a chicken.

  23. CGHill
    May 4th, 2010 @ 7:47 pm

    The last person who could get away with “That’s a joke, son” wasn’t a person: he was a chicken.

  24. Robert Stacy McCain
    May 5th, 2010 @ 1:32 am

    Like Bob said, Suzie: Coffee, and make it fresh.

  25. Robert Stacy McCain
    May 4th, 2010 @ 8:32 pm

    Like Bob said, Suzie: Coffee, and make it fresh.

  26. Callum Harris
    May 21st, 2010 @ 3:56 am

    Fidel Castro would always be an icon of history evethough he is against the U.S.`*-

  27. Callum Harris
    May 20th, 2010 @ 10:56 pm

    Fidel Castro would always be an icon of history evethough he is against the U.S.`*-

  28. George Walker
    July 19th, 2010 @ 9:09 am

    Fidel Castro still have some good legacies despite his not so good repuation.,,~

  29. George Walker
    July 19th, 2010 @ 5:09 am

    Fidel Castro still have some good legacies despite his not so good repuation.,,~