Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Suspected terrorist admits to it

From CBS 2:

A court hearing was canceled Tuesday in part because of Shahzad's continuing cooperation with investigators, but authorities said they had shed little light on what might have motivated him.

Until recently, his life in the U.S. appeared enviable. He had a master's degree from the University of Bridgeport, Conn., a job as a budget analyst for a marketing firm in Norwalk, Conn., two children and a well-educated wife who posted his smiling picture and lovingly called him "my everything" on a social networking website.

But shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen a year ago, he gave up his job, stopped paying his mortgage and told a real estate agent to let the bank take the house because he was returning to Pakistan.

Once there, according to investigators, he traveled to the lawless Waziristan region and learned bomb making at a terrorist training camp.

In court papers, investigators said Shahzad returned to the U.S. on Feb. 3, moved into an apartment in a low-rent section of Bridgeport, then set about acquiring materials and an SUV he bought with cash in late April. They said that after his arrest, Shahzad confessed to rigging the bomb and driving it into Times Square. He also acknowledged getting training in Pakistan, the filing said.

Kifyat Ali, a cousin of Shahzad's father, spoke with reporters outside a two-story home the family owns in an upscale part of Peshawar, Pakistan. He said the family had yet to be officially informed of Shahzad's arrest, which he called ``a conspiracy so the (Americans) can bomb more Pashtuns,'' a reference to a major ethnic group in Peshawar and the nearby tribal areas of Pakistan and southwest Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the Times Square car bomb plot, but U.S. officials said they are still investigating. Federal authorities are looking into possible financing of Shahzad's activities by the group, according to one of the law enforcement officials who spoke to the AP.

In Pakistan, authorities detained several people, although the FBI said it had no confirmation that those arrests were relevant to the case.

Shahzad came to the U.S. in late 1998 on a student visa. Not long after earning his MBA, he took a job at the Affinion Group, which does brand-loyalty marketing, and stayed there until leaving voluntarily in May 2009, a company spokesman said.

His path to citizenship was eased by his marriage to an American, Huma Mian.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just a regular citizen who turned radical after his life fell apart.

He wasn't some illegal who smuggled himself here with intent on destruction.

Queens Crapper said...

You're kidding, right?

How did his life fall apart?

Anonymous said...

"He wasn't some illegal who smuggled himself here with intent on destruction."

No he came in through the front door. Even worse.

Deke DaSilva said...

Just a regular citizen who turned radical after his life fell apart.

Yes, because there are TONS of regular Americans (especially white Americans!) who quit their jobs with marketing firms, tell their bank to repossess their home, then decide to go to Waziristan for training in bomb making at a terrorist camp.

Just think of all those people laid off in the financial industry that tried to park SUVs full of explosives in the past couple years. There's literally thousands of incidents!

All those white Christians, and Chinese Buddhists, and Indian Hindus! It happens every day!

Anonymous said...

Think of all the laid of husbands who have murdered their wife and children then themselves because they couldn't hack it.

Anonymous said...

The difference is that angry Lutherans don't have training camps, money, and an international infrastructure based in Wittenberg to bring about the submission of the world to the Christian God and Luther his prophet. Maybe something like that was happening four or five hundred years ago, but the Muslims started in 634 AD and continue without interruption to this day with training camps, money, and an international terrorism supporting infrastructure.

Anonymous said...

Immigrant comes to the US to chase the American dream (yes, plenty of immigrants still do that), gets kicked in the balls by the mortgage crisis, finds an outlet for his diffuse rage and frustration in a radical ideology he was probably exposed to earlier in life. He was a victim of circumstance.

Imagine the bomber turned out to be some crazy right-wing Jesus nut tea bagger. A pompous, arrogant, racist, poorly informed, and hugely misguided political movement gets taken down a few notches.

Because this guy was a Muslim, we'll have another 8 years of extreme hatred toward an entire religion (about 1/6th of the planet's population) because a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch.

Queens Crapper said...

"gets kicked in the balls by the mortgage crisis"

Where has this been reported?

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine an American citzen concerned about the growth of government to want to act on that concern by exploding an SUV with propane tanks and fertilizer in front of the Viacom Building in Time Square...

Perhaps it's only a failure of my imagination.

And while you are busy imagining things, how about imagining world Muslim leaders (i.e. your so-called "good apples") condemning the actions of Faisal Shahzad.

Auntie Invasion said...

Angry Lutherans have the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in order to get back at other Americans.

They are behind much of the illegal immigrant invasion. The Lutherans particularly like women who can get pregnant over and over again in order to populate the US with anchor babies on food stamps and welfare. Illegal aliens are special, don't have to pay attention to US laws, right? wrong.

This man took a job from an American and purchased a home. How many of our state's long term unemployed and jobless can dream of that?

the University of Bridgeport could be blame here. They are owned by the Unification Church, a cult made famous by the Reverend Moon's mass weddings in Madison Square Garden.

The University of Bridgeport gave him a student visa in it's efforts to recruit international students.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bridgeport

Auntie Invasion said...

Enrollment has grown dramatically in recent years, from 1,383 total students in 1992 to 5,323 students in Fall 2008.[23] This expansion is largely due to the increased number of international students[6], which are heavily recruited by the administration.[6][24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bridgeport#PWPA_and_Sun_Myung_Moon

They should be looking into the University of Bridgeport.

Deke DaSilva said...

gets kicked in the balls by the mortgage crisis

Anonym-ASS, you really are quite stupid, and have some reading comprehension problems. Did you even bother reading the article? If you did, you would have read this:

But shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen a year ago, he gave up his job, stopped paying his mortgage and told a real estate agent to let the bank take the house because he was returning to Pakistan.

Because this guy was a Muslim, we'll have another 8 years of extreme hatred toward an entire religion (about 1/6th of the planet's population) because a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch.

Extreme hatred? Where? How many mosques have been burned in the U.S.? How many random moslems have been attacked on the street in the U.S.?

Sure, a few cases. But not even CLOSE to the hysterical epidemic that you imagine in your warped brain.

Be careful what you wish for!

LibertyBoyNYC said...

George Bush made him dun it! He also unplugged the Gulf of Mexico! I saw him in the diving bell, snickerin'!

If only we had more solar panels and illegal immigrants, none of this would have happened!

Vote Liu!

Anonymous said...

I love how all the focus is on Muslims now, again. Islam is not a violent religion, but the two sets of people bombing us right now are either Islamic militants or Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen. The Fundamentalist Christan Militiamen haven't really done anything of note since Clinton's day.

The current conditions are ripe for a new wave of right wing violence. So it was not unreasonable for investigators to consider that possibility. In fact, if they didn't explore it, they wouldn't be doing their jobs.

Domestic terrorists (i.e. native-born Americans following domestically-developed ideologies) tend to choose more personal and obscure targets while foreign terrorists go for big targets that internationally represent American power and influence.

If/when we have a domestic terror attack, it will be against some random federal building in the mid west or a lone gunman opening fire in an office building that happens to contain a Census Bureau field office.

But yea keep on hating on brown people, I guess. I wouldn't expect any less from people living in a diverse area.

Anonymous said...

I love how all the focus is on Muslims now, again. Islam is not a violent religion, but the two sets of people bombing us right now are either Islamic militants or Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen. The Fundamentalist Christan Militiamen haven't really done anything of note since Clinton's day."

You are full of contradictory nonsense. "now" "again" Is the FCM some group whose exploits aren't getting reported on the evening news? I never heard of them, and I don't just watch "Fox"!

Deke DaSilva said...

Another (or perhaps the same Anonym-ASS?) idiot needs to get bitch slapped!:

I love how all the focus is on Muslims now, again.

Well, maybe if the Mozzies stop acting out their violent fantasies, we'll stop focusing on them. Ya think?

Islam is not a violent religion [sic], but the two sets of people bombing us right now are either Islamic militants or Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen.

But wait - you just told us that Islam is NOT a violent religion, yet then you tell us that one of the two sets of people bombing us are Islamic. Which is it? Violent or not violent?

And when was the last successful bombing incident by a Christian militia group?

The Fundamentalist Christan Militiamen haven't really done anything of note since Clinton's day.

You contradict yourself again here, dumb ass! You just told us:

the two sets of people bombing us right now are either Islamic militants or Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen.

Now you tell us that the Christians haven't done anything since Clinton's presidency. That's over 10 years ago! Which is it?

Who were these "Fundamentalist Christians"?

Timothy McVeigh? I just read his bio on Wikipedia, not one single mention of the word "Christian"?

Branch Davidians? They didn't attack anyone, they were attacked by the U.S. Government.

Can you provide some examples?

The current conditions are ripe for a new wave of right wing violence.

As opposed to the past 8 years, which were ripe for left wing violence, perhaps?

So it was not unreasonable for investigators to consider that possibility. In fact, if they didn't explore it, they wouldn't be doing their jobs.

Unreasonable, no. Do you think it's unreasonable for them to consider Islamic groups? Or is that "Islamophobia" according to you?

Deep down inside, you really are pissed off that the guy captured is a Moslem! Because that ruins your whole political world view, and destroys your argument!

If/when we have a domestic terror attack, it will be against some random federal building in the mid west or a lone gunman opening fire in an office building that happens to contain a Census Bureau field office.

Really? How would you know this? Is this something that you're wishing for, so you can score some cheap points on a blog?

Be careful what you wish for!

But yea keep on hating on brown people, I guess. I wouldn't expect any less from people living in a diverse area.

Keep fantasizing about your "lone, Christian fundamentalist, angry white guy" scenario!

Only in your wet masturbatory dreams!

Now report back to your Al Qaeda handlers, and have them write some new material for you!

Queens Crapper said...

I really don't know how to break this to you, but if you saw the last names of the people who send me material, you'd probably fall off the chair. Immigrants who come here wanting to live here permanently and integrate into society, as well as their offspring, are as disgusted with what is going on as are the natives.

Miles Mullin said...

umm....what happened to news from Arizona?

Deke DaSilva said...

but if you saw the last names of the people who send me material, you'd probably fall off the chair............are as disgusted with what is going on as are the natives.

A "silent majority" perhaps?

Anonymous said...

How about we not put the nuts to an ideological test. If they are Fascist extremists, communists, Islamsists, whatever and they bomb America, they should be tortured and then killed.

Anonymous said...

it is reported that mayor bloomberg is again condemning gun ,because of the gun found in the islamic terrorist's car. reports tell us that this car bomb was placed there to murder many hundreds of citizens and tourists.

i remind you that when the nazi's(national socialist democrats) invaded Norway,with the help of the "QUISLING" ,see wikipedia, they confiscated all guns and radios at once.

retaliation was almost impossible by Norwegian patriots.

i believe bloomberg is a candidate for impeachment or recall. he is losing it."send the Arizona illegal aliens to n.y.c." could he have gone insane ?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Shazhad is good looking man...for a terrorist! I'll fuck him

Klink Cannoli said...

Anonymous wrote: Islam is not a violent religion, but the two sets of people bombing us right now are either Islamic militants or Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen.
=================================
Are you Muslim? And if you are, which sect?

Kind of curious to know where you're coming from.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for the poor guy. Here was a young man, an American citizen, father of two young children, who was obviously led astray. I wonder what caused it? This will no doubt make his childrens lives a lot more difficult. Sad story all around.

Anonymous said...

Again: "bombing us ... Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen" - exactly who are you talking about? Timothy McVeigh wasn't a Christian. Nearly all the hits on christian bombing refer to Christians as victims, with the religion of peace as the religious identity of the bombers.

Which Fundamentalist Christian Militiamen have bombed anyone recently?

Anonymous said...

"I feel sorry for the poor guy. Here was a young man, an American citizen, father of two young children, who was obviously led astray. I wonder what caused it? This will no doubt make his childrens lives a lot more difficult. Sad story all around."

WTF? OK - I get it. You're having one over on all of us. Seriously. You get an "A" for your sense of humor. Bravo! Now fuck off!

Deke DaSilva said...

I feel sorry for the poor guy.

Another douche bag, the kind of person who would say: "You know, Pol Pot really wasn't that bad of a guy."

Klink Cannoli said...

Must a be a troll.

Wish QC did away with anonymous postings. With all these Anons floating around, I never know who I'm writing to.

georgetheatheist said...

Did you notice in the photo that Shazad is wearing his seat belt? A very law-abiding individual.

www.arizonaguide.com

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[x] Male
[x] No, not of Latino, Hispanic, or Spanish origin
[x] White

Anonymous said...

Maybe he had marriage problems. Maybe he was really gay. Most of the suicide bombers were single young men who were estranged from society. It is just that much more disturbing that a father of young children would contemplate something like this.

Anonymous said...

"Most of the suicide bombers were single young men who were estranged from society"

Again, you're wrong. Didn't you read that NY Times Magazine article a few years ago? "Suicide" bombers are raised from birth, in intact families to believe that they will die for their cause and achieve glory. Well, at least the Muslim ones are. You must be referring to that all-to-common "Christian" bomber, the kind we see every day here in the US.

Anonymous said...

Most disturbing of all is that in the area from which he hails, the parents strap the explosives on their children themselves.

People pick at every fault America has, and there are some, but they overlook and excuse real savagery.

Queens Crapper said...

"You must be referring to that all-to-common "Christian" bomber, the kind we see every day here in the US."

We have Christian bombers setting off bombs every day here in the US?

Anonymous said...

We have Christian bombers setting off bombs every day here in the US?


i was being sarcastic!

Miles Mullin said...

Klink said:

Wish QC did away with anonymous postings. With all these Anons floating around, I never know who I'm writing to.

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Klink wants a little sunshine in our technology here.

heh heh heh heh