Faisal Shahzad was not trained anywhere
The sad bomber went to Pakistan, but the FBI doubts anyone taught him to make a bomb
Topics: Times Square Bomb Attempt, War Room, Faisal Shahzad, Terrorism, Politics News
Would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad probably did not receive “training” in terrorism from the Pakistani Taliban, or anyone else. Based on how poorly he planned and carried out his slapstick attack on Times Square, that seems obvious — if this is how the Pakistani Taliban trains a bomber, they might want to consider purchasing a high school chemistry textbook — but it contradicts a week of hysterical reporting on statements by unnamed officials.
According to the criminal complaint, Shahzad “admitted” to receiving training in Waziristan. But McClatchy quotes an FBI spokesman:
“Did somebody encourage him to try to do this? That’s possible, given where he was and for how long and his financial circumstances,” a third U.S. official said. “But did anybody show him how to do it? Nothing we know points in that direction, and I don’t know why some people are talking as if we had something solid. Inspired, maybe. Trained? Not in any serious sense of the word.”
(“Some people” includes the New York Times.)
Today’s New York Post has video of Shahzad buying the fireworks he attached to capped propane tanks, the wrong kind of fertilizer, and two alarm clocks. (Had he failed to find any of those materials he presumably would’ve purchased big red sticks of dynamite and attached them to a digital timer that went “beep beep beep.”)
The story also features the best official statement of the day:
“We are very disappointed this coward would use Phantom Fireworks product intending to cause harm to Americans,” the company said in a press release. “That is the opposite of what fireworks mean to the people of the United States.”
Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.
More Related Stories
-
Developers evict historic women's shelter to build luxury hotel
-
Guantánamo prisoner on hunger strike cries for help on Twitter
-
3 possible solutions to international tax avoidance
-
“I just want the U.S. to send my father home”
-
Army weapons engineer tied to white nationalist organizations
-
Ted Cruz against the world
-
David Vitter's hypocritical, punitive, horrible new amendment
-
Louie Gohmert: Women should be forced to carry nonviable pregnancies to term
-
Could hackers destroy the U.S. power grid?
-
Democrats may be even worse than Republicans at regulating Wall Street
-
Eric Holder versus journalism
-
A progressive defense of drones
-
There's no substitute for government disaster relief
-
Holder signed off on search warrant for reporter
-
Mississippi could begin prosecuting women for miscarriages
-
Mike Judge: "Bowling for Columbine" made me pro-gun
-
Closing Gitmo is not enough
-
Murkowski: Palin too disengaged to run for Senate
-
In IRS scandal, new GOP tactic is ignorance
-
Code Pink activist berates Obama at national security speech
-
Cuomo: "Shame on us" if New York City elects Weiner
Featured Slide Shows
The week in 10 pics
close X-
Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero -
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke -
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher -
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
Credit: AP/Molly Riley -
Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite -
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster -
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid -
Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield -
When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin -
A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin -
Recent Slide Shows
Most Read
-
Judge tells lesbian couple to separate -- or lose kids
-
9-year-old slams Rahm over Chicago schools
-
Greek yogurt, toxic waste hazard?
-
Tornado survivor to Wolf Blitzer: Sorry, I'm an atheist. I don't have to thank the Lord
-
Experts: Fox News spying scandal a game-changer
-
Glenn Beck: CNN interview with atheist tornado survivor was a setup!
-
Joe Francis apologizes for calling jury "retarded"
-
Graphic video reportedly shows possible London machete attack suspect
-
Couple files groundbreaking lawsuit over child's sexual-reassignment surgery
-
Bush cancels Europe trip amid calls for his arrest
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com
111 points112 points113 points | 10 comments
Elite School Says Teachers Sexually Abused Students
Why 'Budding' Entrepreneurs Are Forced Into The Shadows
-
No Evidence FBI Is Targeting Chechen Separatists In Boston Bombing Case, Advocates Say - Welcome Back Weiner Puns
-
Bill De Blasio Won't Be Distracted By Anthony Weiner -
State Roadblocks Could Complicate Marriage Momentum - Obama Calls On Naval Academy Graduates To Help Put An End To Sexual Assault In The Military
Comments
25 Comments