White House says Pakistan Taliban behind failed Times Square bombing

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Citing new evidence, senior White House officials said Sunday that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the failed Times Square bombing.

The finding is a reversal for the Obama administration, which had downplayed potential links to overseas terrorist groups in the immediate aftermath of the attack. It also raises new questions about the U.S.’ relationship with Pakistan, which is widely known to have Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups operating within its borders.

Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said new evidence showed that the Pakistani Taliban was ‘intimately involved’ in the bomb plot. John Brennan, the president’s homeland security and counter-terrorism advisor, made similar remarks, linking the alleged bomber to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

The militant group is believed to be hiding senior Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden.

‘We know that they helped facilitate it,’ Holder said. ‘We know that they probably helped finance it. And that he was working at their direction.’

A U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, Faisal Shahzad is accused of spending five months in Pakistan before returning to the U.S. in February and preparing his attack.

Shahzad has told investigators that he trained in the lawless tribal areas of Waziristan, where both Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban operate. He was arrested hours after the May 1 bomb attempt aboard an Emirates Airlines jet in New York just minutes before it was scheduled to take off for Dubai.

After the attack, U.S. officials said they were exploring potential links to terrorist groups overseas but cited the bomb’s lack of sophistication as an indication that Shahzad was acting alone.

Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told NBC News that ‘at this point I have no information that it’s anything other than a one-off.’ Likewise, Gen. David H. Petraeus told the Associated Press that Shahzad apparently operated as a ‘lone wolf.’

Brennan said on Sunday that the attempted bombing showed that the capability of overseas terrorist organizations was being degraded.

‘They now are relegated to trying to do these unsophisticated attacks, showing that they have inept capabilities in training,’ he said.

The link between an attack on U.S. soil and terrorist groups operating inside Pakistan opens up a new chapter in relations between the two countries. Until recently, administration officials have said they thought Islamabad was doing all it could.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week that there would be ‘severe consequences’ if the attack were traced back to Pakistan and that the South Asian country could do more.

Brennan said Islamabad was being very cooperative in the investigation but that the U.S. wants to know exactly who may have been helping Shahzad.

‘There are a number of terrorist and militant groups operating in Pakistan,’ he said. ‘And we need to make sure there’s no support being given to them by the Pakistani government.’

Brennan would not say whether Shahzad may be connected to fugitive Al Qaeda cleric Anwar Awlaki, other than to acknowledge his Internet sermons are popular among extremist Muslims.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Pakistan has recently stepped up efforts to root out extremist militants.

‘The Pakistanis have been doing so much more than 18 months or two years ago any of us would have expected,’ Gates told reporters at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. He referred to Pakistani army offensives, dating to spring 2009, against Taliban extremists in areas near the Afghan border, including in south Waziristan.

Gates said the Obama administration was sticking to its policy of offering to do as much training and other military activity inside Pakistan as the Pakistani government is willing to accept.

‘It’s their country,’ Gates said. ‘They remain in the driver’s seat and they have their foot on the accelerator.’

Brennan spoke on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ ‘Fox News Sunday’ and CBS’ ‘Face the Nation.’ Holder spoke on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ and ABC’s ‘This Week.’ Clinton’s interview with CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ is set to air Sunday.

-- Associated Press