Faisal Shahzad States NYC Car Bomb was Revenge for Drone Attacks on Taliban in Pakistan

Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen at the time of his failed terror attack on NYC, is married to an American and has two small children. What made him give up pursuit of a life in America in favor of attacking his new country?

Faisal Shahzad Move to America at Age 18

Was terrorism his original motive for coming to America at age 18 or was he simply here to start a new life? It is perplexing how someone could spend time in a country, building a life and then do something as horrific as a terror attack.

Explosives Training in Pakistan

Faisal Shahzad spent recent months in Pakistan, learning how to make bombs via training with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. His motive for the failed car bomb in Times Square, New York City was retaliation for the American drone attacks that killed much of the Taliban leadership in Pakistan, reports the NY Post.

Waziristan Jihad Camps

Shahzad spent time in the Waziristan area of Pakistan, known to be a hub of Taliban and al Qaeda leadership. This is the same region where Osama bin Laden is believed to be in hiding.

In early April the NY Times reported that drone attacks in Pakistan were increasing in quantity in an attempt to kill Taliban leadership in the tribal areas of Pakistan. The leadership of the Taliban released threats over the drone attacks. "A senior Taliban leader vowed to unleash two suicide attacks a week like one on Saturday in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, unless the CIA stopped firing missiles at militants."

Drone Program Headquarters in America

America runs the drone program out of Creech Air Force base, located slightly under 50 miles from Las Vegas, reports CBS. This base, about 7,500 miles from Pakistan and Afghanistan, is where the drones are remote controlled by military workers via computer and satellite. Each Reaper drone has a cost of around $11 million dollars. Predator drones are also used.

Each drone has a camera onboard to track the sites it is analyzing for terrorist activity. This gives the military at Creech Air Force base a real-time look at the areas where the drones will drop bombs.

Pakistan has expressed dismay over the civilians mistakenly killed in drone attacks. This drone program may be building anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. However, it is also quite effective at killing the leaders of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Will There Be More Attacks?

America is, as always since 9/11, under watch for future terror attacks. Will the Taliban of Pakistan attempt to attack America again? Do they have the knowledge to successfully prepare a bomb that would work? These are issues President Obama must be grappling with now.

Sources:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/taliban_lackey_Su3wybDRpAYfahVx03zskI

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/world/asia/07drone.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/08/60minutes/main5001439.shtml

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0505/Where-in-Pakistan-did-Faisal-Shahzad-learn-bomb-making-skills