It is still too early to know who was behind the car bomb effort in Times Square in New York City over the weekend. Was a group behind it or some lone nutcase individual? Time will hopefully tell. It is to be noted that the "person of interest" to date appears to be a white man. With the continued upheaval and anti-Americanism in the Middle East, some fear a Islamic effort. By the same token, however, the craziness of the teabagger and birther set leaves the door open for a domestic plot. New York and its perceived liberalism and racially diverse population is seen as the enemy by many of the disenchanted anti-government and anti-modernity forces of the far right. It will be telling to see if a suspect can be apprehended and, if so, precisely who it is and what motivation was in play. Here are highlights from the New York Times:*
Law enforcement officials offered a more detailed description of the makeup of the failed car bomb found in Times Square on Saturday night, and said they were reviewing surveillance footage that showed a white man who appeared to be in his 40s walking away from the area as he looked over his shoulder and removed a layer of clothing.
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Raymond W. Kelly, the New York City police commissioner, said on Sunday that the materials found in the Nissan Pathfinder — gasoline, propane, firecrackers and simple alarm clocks — also included eight bags of a granular substance, later determined to be nonexplosive grade of fertilizer, inside a 55-inch-tall metal gun locker. The bomb, Mr. Kelly said, “would have caused casualties, a significant fireball.”
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F.B.I. agents and detectives had identified and were seeking to interview the owner of the Pathfinder, which was traced to Connecticut. The owner’s name was not made public.
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[S]urveillance footage that showed an unidentified man walking away from West 45th Street, where the Nissan Pathfinder had been parked. The police said the man was a “person of interest.” The man was seen in Shubert Alley, which runs between 44th and 45th Streets, looking furtively over his shoulder and removing a dark shirt, revealing a red one underneath, officials said. The man then stuffed the dark shirt into a bag, officials said.
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Asked if he considered the failed bombing the work of terrorists, Mr. Kelly said: “A terrorist act doesn’t necessarily have to be conducted by an organization. An individual can do it on their own.”
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Identifying the owner of the Pathfinder — an important development, according to one official — was achieved through the S.U.V.’s vehicle identification number, which had been stripped from the car’s dashboard but was stamped on other car parts, like the engine block and axle. . . . The license plate on the S.U.V. was connected to a different vehicle that was awaiting repairs in Stratford, Conn., where F.B.I. agents and the local police awoke the owner of the repair shop at 3 a.m. Sunday.
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The S.U.V. was parked near the headquarters of Viacom, fueling suspicions that the attack was related to a controversy surrounding “South Park,” the Comedy Central cartoon program that recently censored an episode that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad. Viacom owns Comedy Central, and police have not ruled out the connection.
