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Citing new evidence, senior White House
officials said Sunday that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the
failed Times Square bombing.


      The finding is a reversal for the Obama administration, which
had downplayed potential links to overseas terrorist groups in the
immediate aftermath of the attack. It also raises new questions
about the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, which is widely known to
have al-Qaida and other terrorist groups operating within its
borders.


      Attorney General Eric Holder said that new evidence shows that
the Pakistani Taliban was "intimately involved" in the bombing
plot. John Brennan, the president's homeland security and
counterterrorism adviser, made similar remarks, linking the bomber
to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.


      The militant group is believed to be hiding senior al-Qaida
leaders, including Osama bin Laden.


      "We know that they helped facilitate it," said Holder. "We
know that they probably helped finance it. And that he was working
at their direction."


      A U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, Faisal Shahzad is accused
of spending five months in Pakistan before returning to the United
States in February and preparing his attack.


      Shahzad has told investigators that he trained in the lawless
tribal areas of Waziristan, where both al-Qaida and the Pakistani
Taliban operate. He was arrested aboard an Emirates Airlines jet in
New York just minutes before it was scheduled to take off for
Dubai.


      After the attack, U.S. officials said they were exploring
potential links to terrorist groups overseas but cited the bomb's
lack of sophistication as an indication that Shahzad was acting
alone.


      Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, told
NBC News that "at this point I have no information that it's
anything other than a one-off." Likewise, Gen. David Petraeus told
The Associated Press that Shahzad apparently operated as a "lone
wolf."


      Brennan said on Sunday that the attempted bombing shows that the
capability of overseas terrorist organizations is being degraded.


      "They now are relegated to trying to do these unsophisticated
attacks, showing that they have inept capabilities in training,"
he said.


      The link between an attack on U.S. soil and terrorist groups
operating inside Pakistan opens up a new chapter in relations
between the two countries. Until recently, administration officials
have said they thought Islamabad was doing all it could.


      Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week that
there would be "severe consequences" if the attack were traced
back to Pakistan and that the South Asian country could do more.


      Brennan said Islamabad was being very cooperative in the
investigation but that the U.S. wants to know exactly who may have
been helping Shahzad.


      "There are a number of terrorist and militant groups operating
in Pakistan," he said. "And we need to make sure there's no
support being given to them by the Pakistani government."
      

      Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Pakistan has recently
stepped up efforts to root out extremist militants.


      "The Pakistanis have been doing so much more than 18 months or
two years ago any of us would have expected," Gates told reporters
at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He referred to Pakistani Army offensives,
dating to spring 2009, against Taliban extremists in areas near the
Afghan border, including in south Waziristan.


      Gates said the Obama administration is sticking to its policy of
offering to do as much training and other military activity inside
Pakistan as the Pakistani government is willing to accept.


      "It's their country," Gates said. "They remain in the
driver's seat, and they have their foot on the accelerator."


      Brennan spoke on CNN's "State of the Union," "Fox News
Sunday" and CBS' "Face the Nation." Holder spoke on NBC's "Meet
the Press" and ABC's "This Week." Clinton's interview with CBS'
"60 Minutes" is set to air Sunday.
      

Gallery

NYPD bomb squad gives all-clear in Times Square

NY car bomb suspect cooperates, but motive mystery

Times Square bomb suspect charged with terrorism

Sources: Suspect trained at Pakistan terror camp

Attorney General Eric Holder says the
Pakistani Taliban was "intimately involved" in the failed Times
Square bombing.

White House says Pakistan Taliban behind NY bomb

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