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More on Faisal Shahzad and his Fizzle
Hat tip to linker for the phrase Faisal's Fizzle.
Faisal Shahzad, the naturalized U.S. citizen who allegedly drove a rusty sport utility vehicle packed with explosives into the heart of New York's Times Square, was charged with terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in the botched bombing.

In a federal complaint issued Tuesday, prosecutors accused Shahzad of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempting to kill U.S. citizens and carrying a destructive device.

Shahzad allegedly launched the plot in December 2009,
Sudden Jihad Syndrome, then.
according to a sworn statement from FBI agent Andrew Pachtman. After he was arrested late Monday, Shahzad told authorities he had recently received bomb-making training in Waziristan, Pakistan, the court papers said.

Authorities tied Shahzad to the SUV after the car's previous owner identified him in a photo lineup. FBI agents also traced a phone number from a prepaid cell phone that was used to communicate with the SUV's seller. That cell phone was used to make calls to a fireworks store in rural Pennsylvania that sells M-88 fireworks, the same sort that were found in the smoldering SUV, officials said.

Federal agents arrested Shahzad, 30, on Monday, just before midnight, at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to leave the country on a Dubai-bound flight. The Pakistan-born man is providing useful information to authorities, Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference Tuesday.

Intelligence and government sources in Pakistan said Shahzad is originally from a small town known as Mohib Banda in the Northwest Frontier Province. Seven of the suspects arrested in Pakistan were detained in the same province. The eighth person was detained in Karachi, where Shahzad's family, including a brother, wife and two small boys, are living, the sources said.

No other arrests in the United States are imminent, two law enforcement sources said. Agents were trying to determine whether Shahzad, who has an extensive record of international travel, actually acted on his own, as he told the FBI on Monday night.
Technically, no, since he got training in Pakistan, and no doubt guidance on his plan as well.
Shahzad reportedly provided valuable information to agents almost immediately. Investigators said that even after he was read his right to remain silent, he continued to offer insights.

Authorities said that "eagle-eyed" customs and border patrol agents had spotted Shahzad's name on the Emirates flight manifest Monday evening, less than a day after he had become a person of interest in the case.
Despite the fact that the name on the No Fly list hadn't yet trickled down to their computers. Well done, O Unnamed ICE People!
Shahzad was born in Pakistan and came to the U.S. on a student visa when he was about 18. He first attended college in Washington, D.C., then transferred to the University of Bridgeport. He got a bachelor's degree in computer science in 2000, then an MBA in 2005.

In 2002, Shahzad was granted an H1-B visa for skilled workers and got a job as a financial analyst at Affinion, a marketing firm in Norwalk, Conn. He married a U.S. citizen, Huma Asif Mian, and became a citizen himself in April 2009, passing all the necessary criminal and national security background checks.

The Shahzads had two children, a boy and a girl, and lived in a house in Shelton, Conn. Affinion officials say he voluntarily left his job in June. The bank later foreclosed on his house, and he moved to an apartment in a working-class neighborhood of Bridgeport. Neighbors say there was no sign of his family living at the apartment.

Authorities say Shahzad bought the Nissan Pathfinder on Craigslist three weeks ago from another Connecticut man. He reportedly paid cash for the vehicle and never filed any of the paperwork necessary to register it.
Understandable under the circumstances, but a newly-minted citizen should be especially respectful of the laws of his adopted country.
Fingerprints were found in the vehicle, which was parked Saturday night on a busy midtown Manhattan street. Authorities said they also found forensic evidence linking Shahzad to some sort of international group, but didn't give many details on that connection.

From another NPR article:
One man detained in Karachi was identified only as Tauseef and was a friend of Shahzad, according to one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Pakistani intelligence officers insist on anonymity as a matter of policy. Media reports described some of the others detained as relatives of Shahzad.

In Washington, Pakistani Embassy spokesman Nadeem Haider Kiani said early indications suggest the bomber was "a disturbed individual."
Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-05
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=296039