WASHINGTON — The U.S. citizen who attempted to set off a car bomb in New York’s Times Square last week was trained and funded by a Pakistani militant group that worked closely with al-Qaida to plot attacks against the U.S., top Obama administration officials said today.
“We’ve now developed evidence that shows that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attack,” Attorney Gen. Eric Holder said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We know that they helped facilitate it. We know that they probably helped finance it. And that he was working at their direction.”
The assertion was repeated by senior White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, who said it appeared as though 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad was “operating on behalf of the Tehrik-e-Taliban, the TPP.”
“It’s a group that is closely allied with al-Qaida,” Brennan said, speaking on “ Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” “They train together, they plan together, they plot together. They are almost indistinguishable.”
Brennan said officials were still investigating the extent of Shahzad’s connection to the group but believed he was trained during his visits to Pakistan. Brennan said he could not comment on whether the group recruited Shahzad, a Pakistani-born naturalized citizen, because his American passport allowed him to travel easily between the two countries.
Shahzad was arrested as he tried to flee the country on a flight to the Middle East late Monday, 53 hours after his SUV packed with explosives was discovered in Times Square. Although Obama administration officials initially described Shahzad as a lone wolf, since his arrest a fuller picture of his connection to radical Islamic elements had emerged. Shahzad appears to have been radicalized during his time living in the U.S. and allegedly contacted the Pakistani Taliban by way of the Internet.
The group was the first to claim credit for the attempted bombing, then retracted the claim while suggesting it had other efforts underway to attack the U.S. Intelligence agencies have dismissed similar claims in the past.
Brennan said the administration planned to continue to put pressure on the Pakistani government to root out militant groups in the country. “We need to make sure there is no support being given to them by the Pakistani government,” he said.
Holder, speaking on “This Week,” said officials “don’t have any indication” the Pakistan government was aware of the Times Square plot.
Holder defended the way Shahzad was interrogated in the hours after his capture but also said the administration would be seeking changes to the rules governing such interviews. Holder said he would ask Congress to revise the Miranda law requiring law-enforcement authorities to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and obtain an attorney.
Authorities interviewed Shahzad for hours before reading him his Miranda rights, employing what’s called the “public safety” exception. The rule, which allows interrogators to obtain information about immediate threats, is outdated in the age of international terrorism and may not provide agents with the “necessary flexibility,” Holder said.
“I think we have to give serious consideration to at least modifying that public safety exception and that’s one of the things we’re going to be reaching out to Congress to do,” he said.
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