 Hi there. My name is Faisal. I’m a nutball! |
Authorities hunting for the suspect in the botched Times Square bombing dramatically beat the clock overnight, seizing a Pakistani-American citizen moments before he was set to begin a long trip to his strife-torn homeland.
Faisal Shahzad, 30, was arrested around 11:45 p.m. ET Monday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, said Attorney General Eric Holder…
Shahzad was on board Emirates Airlines Flight 202 to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the jetway had been pulled back when the plane was called to return to the gate, a law enforcement source said. Shahzad was booked through to Islamabad, Pakistan, via Dubai, a senior airline official confirmed.
“They just caught him at the last second,” a law enforcement source said…
The Nissan Pathfinder had its vehicle identification number removed from the dashboard. Police climbed under the SUV and retrieved the VIN from the bottom of its engine block.
This breakthrough led investigators to the vehicle’s registered owner and then to Shahzad, who purchased the SUV, an official said.
The Nissan Pathfinder had been sold three weeks ago in a cash deal with no paperwork exchanged, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said Monday. The $1,800 deal was closed at a Connecticut shopping mall, where the buyer handed over the money and drove off, the source said…
The cash deal is perfectly ordinary in Connecticut. Some folks earn a year-round living buying and selling cars off the books. An easy way to avoid taxes.
Hours after the arrest, police were seen at a house in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, working-class neighborhood as part of the investigation. Agents with the FBI and local police, including members of a bomb squad, conducted a search…
While police continued to piece together information about Shahzad, they learned he traveled to Dubai before, most recently in June 2009 and returned to the United States in early February, a law enforcement official said…
Shahzad became a U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009.
Fulfilling all requirements, no doubt.
So, I thought they were looking for a balding white dude?
Why didn’t he just steal a truck? Is there a shortage of car thieves in New York?
Or, better yet, he should have bought a brand-new GM truck – with 0% financing courtesy of US taxpayers.
According to this article, it was a disposable cell phone and not the VIN that got him busted. I guess they will outlaw those now too.
http://politico.com/news/stories/0510/36738.html
What magic spell was TSA supposed to use to “know” this was a bad guy? If he wasn’t getting on THAT plane with a gun, knife or bomb, then what were they supposed to do? Use psychic powers to know he was “a bad guy”? Until the authorities tell the TSA someone is not to be let through, they only stop if you’re doing something wrong NOW (ie. trying to bring a gun through security).
@32
SHHH! Don’t tell these folks! 99% of terrorists are EXTREMELY STUPID! They have no idea how to cause real damage and not a CLUE, not even as smart as an average stoner in this country, on how to get away with a crime. Crazy stupid, but they believe god will magically protect them or “assist” I suppose. Belief in magical invisible beings floating in the sky will make you do stupid stuff.
#30–Skeptic==I’ve had that by accident, never by design. But it does sound good. I love crusty food, but not chitlings.
#33–McCullough==thats one confused story on Politico. Is their reporting usually so mixed up and unclear?
what I take away is that the FBI was working on all the leads they had. I guess we will have to wait for the Frontline Special to get the homogenized story.
The Times Square bomber was not a member of the Tea Party as suggested by Mayor Bloomberg and Katie Couric.
#38 Benji, let’s let the investigation run its course before jumping to that unlikely conclusion.
How did the TSA fail? Was the TSA informed that this guy was wanted? No.
Did he sneak any weapons on board? No.
Did he use fake documents to buy his ticket or present id? No.
What law that under jurisdiction of the TSA were they suppose to use to arrest him?
I’m curious about the title transfer in CT. In California, when you sell you car, you send in a piece of paper telling the DMV you sold your car. On the form you you say to whom, how much, and when. That way if the car is later involved anything (normally an accident or parking ticket) you can defend yourself as not being responsible.
I’ll bet CT is similar.
Bobbo #14,
“That social engineering provision is of interest to me.”
I think you are on to something. I had not considered the extra eyes and ears of our veterans being used as additional trained security, but obviously they are.
I wish I could hear your other thoughts/observations free of the nutjobs. I bet it would be just as interesting.
On another note, noong is absolutly fantastic. It’s hard to get in the states but worth the effort.
I just wonder what is being reported in Afganistan, Iraq and Pakistan about the terrorism the US military is waging in their countries…
42, Ah_Yea,
You can get that at any Korean restaurant if you ask for it.
If you just eat the rice burnt (like a cracker) instead of in a soup, it’s called Noo Roong Gee…. but you need to eat it freshly made… if it cools down it’s tough to eat and is one hell of a workout on your teeth and jaw if you try to eat it cold. But it’s very tasty if you eat it hot.
http://tinyurl.com/24mse64
#18 wetback
Yep, it’s a shame about approximately 47% of the Los Angeles population having the door slammed in their face.
His mono-brow didn’t give him away?
#41–Ah Yea==well thanks. Nothing anyone here wouldn’t come up with in a BS session after a six pack shared with a few friends.
I think our society is actually a whole lot more fragile than we realize–most people are not out to “just do damage.”
Ha, ha. I just wrote a paragraph, and decided to delete it. Yes, the imagination is a powerful thing.
Just pondering here… but all these recent failed attempts may just be a diversion. While we are busy laughing at how ignorant these guys are at building bombs, no-one is looking in the pup tent on the White House lawn, where gamma ray counts have reached 800 RAD.
Killing the first, second and third string Islamist teams seems to be working.
But in truth, we have been very lucky of late, it only takes one successful roach to spoil the dinner party.
Thanks for the tip, Guyver!!
Some one earlier mentioned diversion, as in the jihadists are sending bozos to lull us to sleep.
My theory, it is a diversion but not from who you would expect. All weekend, all day yesterday and all day today the news has been on two topics. The oil slick in the Gulf and this failed bomb attempt. Meanwhile, financial reform blunders along in Congress getting scant media attention, if any.
It is Wall Street, the Big Banks, and the donation hungry Congress behind the failed bombing. All media is zeroed in on this while the real power and money discusses how to hide the raping of the US economy. The Gulf oil spill must be icing on the cake in diverting attention.
OK That was my best attempt at channeling Adam Curry, but come on. Why the great big interest in this would-be terrorist. If he tried to set it off in downtown Kansas City, the cable channels would not give it 5 minutes out of a 2 hrs block.
Interesting. Faisal Shahzad hates George Bush and Republicans as much as any other liberal Democrat. Liberal Democrats were hoping the bomber was a “tea bagger” (their words, perhaps projecting their own desires), yet he turns out to be one of their own.
He claims he did this because of drone attacks in Pakistan against Taliban leaders. So Obama’s policies are causing terrorism.
My question: At what time, on Monday, was he placed on the No Fly list?
From the story:
“As the investigation drew law enforcement officials closer to finding Shahzad, he was placed on a federal no-fly list Monday, according to FBI Deputy Director John Pistole. …
In addition, Emirates airline said Shahzad bought his ticket with cash at the airport counter, and the staff, considering that unusual, immediately informed airport security officials.”
Was he on the No Fly list when he bought the ticket at the counter?
The airline staff were suspicious because he paid cash, but not because he was on the No Fly list??
Well at least he got caught. For once the Patriot Act will be used for actual terrorism, rather than going against porn and weed.