Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan focus 05/06/2010

Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan

focus 05/06/2010 WASHINGTON — The thwarted car bomb plot in New York could lead to a broader US view of Pakistani extremists, with fears growing that an array of overlapping groups are determined to attack the United States. Prosecutors said Tuesday that Pakistani-American attack suspect Faisal Shahzad admitted training in bomb-making in Waziristan, the mountainous region seen as a leading hotbed for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The attempt to wreak havoc in bustling Times Square came as Pakistani Taliban supremo Hakimullah Mehsud — who US officials earlier thought died in a missile strike — resurfaced in videos and vowed to attack US cities. US and Pakistani officials initially rejected out of hand a claim of responsibility for the New York plot posted by Mehsud’s group on YouTube. But investigators have grown more cautious as details emerged in Shahzad’s case. If confirmed to be the Taliban, it would mark a significant foray into international operations for a movement long seen as primarily a local force interested in imposing an austere brand of Islam. But experts said that the distinctions among militant groups in Pakistan are increasingly being blurred.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com3.html

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