Officials say Pakistani Taliban gave guidance and funding to Shahzad
The Pakistani Taliban trained, funded and guided Faisal Shahzad, the man behind the failed Times Square bombing, according to U.S. officials. “We know that they helped facilitate it. We know that they probably helped finance it. And that he was working at their direction,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. This contradicts earlier reports, including remarks made by the head of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus, that Shahzad was a “lone wolf,” and puts more pressure on Pakistan, which is mired in a domestic insurgency but is reluctant to allow American forces on its home soil. “We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences,” said U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton. “We want more; we expect more.” The Taliban, for its part, initially took responsibility for the bombing, but has since retracted that claim.