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NYC Bomb Was Payback for Drone Strikes

Shahzad saw hits in Pakistan; lost Conn. home to foreclosure

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 5, 2010 11:14 AM CDT

(Newser) – A picture is starting to emerge of what drove Faisal Shahzad to attempt to detonate a bomb in Times Square. The 31-year-old father of two lost his home to foreclosure last summer, unable to parlay his Master's degree into success, the LA Times reports. Shortly thereafter he spent eight months in his native Pakistan, where he witnessed US drone strikes on Tehrik-i-Taliban leaders, sources tell the New York Post. Outraged, he signed up with the Taliban, and was trained to make explosives.

"This is blowback,” Pakistan's Foreign Minister said yesterday. “This is retaliation. And you could expect that. Let's not be naïve, they're going to fight back.” Officials had initially rejected the Taliban's claims that the botched attack was retaliation for drone hits. But Post sources say Shahzad was on authorities' radar before the attack. According to one report, investigators are looking into a possible connection between him and David Headley, a Pakistani-American involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Pakistani villagers gather in front of a locked house, owned by the family of Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, in his native village of Mohib Banda, May 5, 2010.
Pakistani villagers gather in front of a locked house, owned by the family of Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, in his native village of Mohib Banda, May 5, 2010.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
A house where Faisal Shahzad lived in the second floor apartment, center, in Bridgeport, Conn., Tuesday, May 4, 2010, is shown.
A house where Faisal Shahzad lived in the second floor apartment, center, in Bridgeport, Conn., Tuesday, May 4, 2010, is shown.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
People walk past a house, where Faisal Shahzad once lived, in Shelton, Conn., Tuesday, May 4, 2010.
People walk past a house, where Faisal Shahzad once lived, in Shelton, Conn., Tuesday, May 4, 2010.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 21 comments
blackwoman4u2
May 6, 2010 8:10 PM CDT
When is America going to wake up is the question?
lvthsgunsnot
May 6, 2010 3:47 PM CDT
If the young man has experienced the same luck and lack of respect as I have dealing with so-called American citizens for the last 50 years ,I could certainly understand the hatred that could consume a man !
Wow,this country has lost some serious integrity with it's everyday occurrence of bigotry,spite ,jealousy,and backstabbing !
Sorry for the innocent Americans who must be smeared with these despicable human faults ,but the I worked in a factory and existed among all of these evils ,many years ,
And yes America,the evil is there and thriving !
laughingdragon
May 6, 2010 9:06 AM CDT
He was an indentured servant and apparently underpaid. If he couldn't afford a $237K house then he wasn't making average analyst wages for the U.S.
Why would an analyst need to be brought in from another country? It's a matter of having programming languages, high intelligence, and comfort with mathematics. Plenty of capable people in the U.S. But U.S. citizens can move from one job to another easily and so, must be paid a reasonable wage. Easier for these companies to fake a need for "specialized training" from a foreign national and bring in a person who can't leave the job and get a better wage elsewhere.

 
terrorism • terrorist • terrorist attack • drone strike • Times Square bomb scare • Times Square suspect • Faisal Shahzad

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