Terrorist Time Bomb

The lead article in this morning’s New York Times, titled “Evidence Mounts for Taliban Role in Car Bomb Plot,” describes increasing links between the terrorist apprehended after he boarded an Emirates flight destined for Dubai and the Pakistani Taliban who claimed responsibility for the attack.

One factor that seems to clinch the connection regards the financiing of the attack. Investigators are currently looking at how the attacker, a naturalized American citizen, was able to purchase the Nissan Pathfinder he used as a car bomb, as well as purchase a ticket to Dubai with $800 in cash. As usual, “follow the money” will prove to be an effective investigatory technique.

Authorities are also scrambling to fix holes in the U.S. security apparatus. The requirement to update the no-fly list every 24 hours nearly let Faisal Shahzad escape, as he was only placed on the list two hours before the flight’ s departure. Other suggested changes would involve increased security checks for those who purchase airline tickets in cash. And Mayor Bloomberg suggested a prohibiton on the sale of fireworks and explosives to those on the terrorist watch list.

The article finally describes the major break in the case, one I didn’t previously understand — how did the police trace a pre-paid cell phone back to the suspect? The response is buried towards the end of the article. A phone number that the terrorist provided when he last entered the United States matched a number he called on the cell phone.