Federal agents are scrambling today to determine whether a Boston cab driver and Brookline gas station attendant arrested yesterday in a massive sweep knew whether their money was provided to a suspected Times Square terror bomber.
The Pakistani natives were rounded up in raids in Watertown and Brookline and at a taxi stand in Allston. . . . A third person was arrested in Maine.
All three are being held on immigration violations and do not face any criminal charges linked to the May 1 Times Square bombing attempt, officials said yesterday . . .
Federal law enforcement officials added it is not yet clear whether those arrested realized how the money was going to be used by [Faisal] Shahzad . . . “They’re very good men, all hard workers,” said Ser Khan of Watertown, adding that his friends did not voice any radical views or hatred toward the United States. “They got jobs. They got money. They live here. They eat here. They work here. How can someone hate America?”
Why did the entire MSM jump to the same conclusion about Skulking White Man from the surveillance tape?
Speaking of sensible questions, I figured it might be helpful to add a photo of Ms. Brewer, just in case anyone was wondering, How could someone so unfathomably stupid get hired as a network news anchor?
It’s National Offend a Feminist Week, an excellent occasion to point out that having a nice rack isn’t a career disadvantage for “progressive” women. And if anyone is psychologically disturbed enough to Google “Contessa Brewer nude” or “Contessa Brewer topless” . . . well, why shouldn’t they be reading this blog?
Wait a minute: Connecticut Democrat. Who wants to bet that Faisal voted for Ned Lamont? He sure doesn’t seem likely to have been a Joe Lieberman voter, but maybe that’s just my “really outdated bigotry” talking . . .
UPDATE III:Drew M. at AOSHQ calls Ms. Brewer “Our favorite MSNBC News whore,” which is unfortunately crude. Wouldn’t a proper concern for civility require a more dignified designation, such as the Gaping Malodorous Orifice of Journalistic Fraudulence?
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.
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.
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. . . .
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.
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.
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.
“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?
Federal authorities are closing in on the man they say is a person of interest in the Times Square car bomb attempt this weekend, who is described as a naturalized American citizen who hails from Pakistan and just returned after spending five months there. . . .
There is growing evidence the bomber did not act alone and had ties to radical elements overseas, with one senior official telling ABC News there are several individuals believed to be connected with the bombing and that at least one of them is a Pakistani-American. . . .
When someone pointed out that the bomb was parked near the New York headquarters of Viacom (i.e., Comedy Central), I figured the perp might be a Muslim trying to avenge the “South Park” Mohammed episode, but I didn’t blog that hunch — or anything else about the Times Square bomb attempt — because I didn’t want to jump to a conclusion in the absence of evidence.
And I still don’t want to jump all the way to a conclusion. Ace of Spades notes that NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg guessed “somebody with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something.”
And who knows? Maybe there are lots of Pakistani-Americans upset about the health care bill. “Or something,” as Mayor Bloomberg said.
The source said forensic evidence uncovered in the vehicle led them to a Middle Eastern man’s name that was familiar to counter terrorism investigators.
So it’s apparently somebody who was already on their list. Will keep an eye on this story, now that the investigation has proceeded past the point where we’re not merely guessing about the perps and their motives. More at Memeorandum.
UPDATE II: A Green Room poster comments on the reluctance of Attorney General Eric Holder and some in the media to label the botched car-bomb an act of terrorism. That reluctance may have been mainly due to the crudeness of the bomb, which was so amateurish as to be an embarrassment to any terrorist organization that claimed credit for it.
It’s only speculation that [the feds rushed to arrest the suspects] because there was pressure from the Administration to generate some militia-threat headlines precisely at the time that the “militia threat” was the talking-point of the day. But it’s not unreasonable speculation, based on what we know so far . . . .
Like I say, not jumping all the way to a conclusion.
UPDATE IV: Speaking of professors, William Jacobson notices that New York Gov. David Patterson is expressing concern about the rights of criminal immigrants. Excellent timing, governor!
The vehicle identification number had been removed from Pathfinder’s dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine, and investigators used it to find the owner on record.
“The discovery of the VIN on the engine block was pivotal in that it led to identifying the registered owner,” Browne said. “It continues to pay dividends.” . . .
(More amateurism — the perp evidently didn’t realize that the VIN is stamped on every engine block.)
The SUV was parked near offices of Viacom Inc., which owns Comedy Central. The network recently aired an episode of the animated show “South Park” that the group Revolution Muslim had complained insulted the Prophet Muhammad by depicting him in a bear costume.
Location, location, location. Here’s an AP video report:
Evan Kohlmann, a terrorism analyst who has served as a consultant for the U.S. government, said the device — as described by police — is extremely crude and bears little likeness to the work of al-Qaeda.
“Calling this thing a bomb may be giving it too much credit,” he said. “This appears more like a glorified Molotov cocktail.
“I don’t think this looks like al-Qaeda,” he said, “but you have to be careful. Even organized terror groups are not always foolproof.”
We might consider the possibility that eight years of a global war on terror has degraded the ability of al-Qaeda to recruit members and organize attacks.
It’s almost not worth speculating on whether this is jihadis or domestic terrorists at work, since drawing the wrong conclusion either way will leave the left or right screaming at you.
Meh. I don’t care who screams at me, as long as I’m right. The evidence is “mixed,” as Allah says, and it’s too early to jump all the way to a conclusion, but if they’ve traced the car and ID’d the buyer as a Pakistani . . .
Hakimullah Mehsud died of injuries sustained in an air strike in North Waziristan earlier this month, Pakistan’s state television claimed.
The state broadcaster also said the leader had been buried in the Pakistani Taliban-controlled area of Orakzai.
An elder in the Mamuzai area of Orakzai tribal agency said he attended Mehsud’s funeral on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation, the elder said Mehsud died at his in-laws’ home.
A Reuters report, quoting a Pakistani intelligence official, said the Taliban leader may have been fatally wounded following a 17 January drone attack on two vehicles in North Waziristan.
Mehsud’s fate has been the subject of intense speculation since a drone attack on 13 January on a remote madrasa on the border between South and North Waziristan.
A madrasa? An Islamic school? Surely they don’t us to believe that practicioners of the Religion of Peace would be harboring a terrorist.
The CIA didn’t read Meshud his Miranda rights or provide him with an attorney before launching a Hellfire missile at him. Meshud’s federal trial in Manhattan has thus been postponed indefinitely.
Federal agents are scrambling today to determine whether a Boston cab driver and Brookline gas station attendant arrested yesterday in a massive sweep knew whether their money was provided to a suspected Times Square terror bomber.
