Fed's New Thinking Times Square "Bombing" is International Terrorism

Make no mistake about it, when all is said and done we will be told that Sunday's Time Square almost bombing was an international terror attack. The feds are already leaning that way. In all probability we dodged another al Qaeda attack. The latest indication that an al  Qaeda related organization was behind the attempted attack is the news the van's registered owner sold it for cash about a month ago via Craig's List to a "middle eastern" gentleman. According to sources at CBS News,  investigators are looking at a possible suspect, a Pakistani American. The source said forensic evidence uncovered in the vehicle led them to a Middle Eastern man’s name that was familiar to counter terrorism investigators.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the potential suspect recently traveled to Pakistan. Law enforcement officials also said the man is a Connecticut resident who paid cash weeks ago for the SUV parked in Times Square on Saturday.

 This is another indication of the real difference between the Obama administration and the Bush administration. The Bush administration seemed to be forward thinking, to stop terror before it happened, Obama seems to be reactive to terror threats as with incidents such as the Times Square, or the underwear bomber, it was only via luck that terrorism was averted.

The Washington Post is reporting :

Emerging from a series of briefings, several officials said it was premature to rule out any motive but said the sweeping, multi-state investigation was turning up new clues.

Separately, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also characterized the incident for the first time as an attempted act of terrorism. "I would say that was intended to terrorize, and I would say that whomever did that would be categorized as a terrorist," Gibbs said, sharpening the administration's tone.

Another U.S. official, recounting a conversation with intelligence officials, said, "Don't be surprised if you find a foreign nexus. . . . They're looking at some tell-tale signs and they're saying it's pointing in that direction."

Officials cautioned that even if the investigation points toward an international link, rather than domestic or anti-government groups, that does not mean al-Qaeda or another terrorist organization is necessarily involved.

....The Taliban in Pakistan claimed responsibility in a video posted on YouTube, but Kelly and federal investigators said Sunday that no evidence had surfaced linking the group to the bomb.

On Sunday night, a second video was postedby apparent representatives of the Taliban, showing the group's commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, promising to launch attacks in the United States.

Mehsud, who U.S. and Pakistan authorities initially believed was killed in January drone strike, was recorded saying, "The time is very near when our fedayeen will attack the American states in their major cities . . . in some days or a month's time."

Even the most ardent fighter of terror has to admit Hakimullah Mehsud looks pretty good for a dead guy.

The video is marked with the logo of the TTP official media wing, Umar Studios, and appears to be credible, according to Evan F. Kohlmann, a terrorism consultant at Flashpoint Partners.

According to the SITE Intelligence Group, a private firm that tracks extremist Web sites, the YouTube video claiming responsibility for the attempted bombing was released by the Taliban in Pakistan. The clip included English subtitles and audio purportedly voiced by Qari Hussein Mehsud, whom officials describe as the organizer of the group's suicide-bomb squad.

SITE said the video states that the attack was retribution for the recent killing of two al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq and for U.S. military actions in Pakistan, particularly the assassinations conducted by U.S. drone aircraft. Terrorism analysts cautioned that the group might be asserting responsibility for propaganda value.

"Over the past week or so, every faction, from al-Shabaab in Somalia on down the list, has issued statements mourning the deaths of these guys in Iraq, saying, 'We're going to avenge them, vengeance is coming,' " said Kohlmann, the consultant who tracks terror groups.

In the nine years since 9/11/01 we kept hearing over and over that another attack was inevitable. Strangely though, before Barack Obama became President, we kept hearing of terrorist attacks that were prevented before they were implemented.  Part of the reason could be that terrorists were detained in a military environment like Gitmo, and our first priority was extracting information, no Miranda rights, no civil trials, until our people were done getting every last piece of intelligence out of captives.

Under President Obama the emphasis has been on guaranteeing the "Civil Rights" of these uncivil combatants.  And while there are some incidents of terror attacks being prevented, there are still those that either happened, such as Major Hassan, or the ones that should have happened if it weren't for equipment failure, like the Underwear Bomber and the Times Square attack. Lets hope that when these latest terrorists are captured (and I am confident that they will), that they are forced to give up all they know, before Eric Holder takes over and starts to "make nice" with these potential mass murderers.