Times Square Bomber's Taliban Contacts Put Pressure on Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan May 7, 2010— -- American officials' growing certainty that failed Times Square bomber received regular guidance from the Pakistani Taliban and contacted other terrorist groups will put pressure on Pakistan to expand offensives against terror groups.

The apparent ease with which Faisal Shahzad came into contact with multiple terrorist organizations has prompted Pakistani intelligence officials to broaden their investigation beyond the Taliban and question a handful of members of a sectarian terrorist group in the southern port city of Karachi.

It is also forcing Pakistan to consider military operations in areas and against groups that have largely been left alone by recent campaigns.

Shahzad's connection to the Taliban was "regular" and "substantial," says a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Shahzad linked up with the Pakistani Taliban online, according to separate law enforcement and intelligence officials close to the investigation, making him their first known Western recruit.

Shahzad's connection to the Taliban was "regular" and "substantial," says a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. shahzad linked up with the Pakistani Taliban online, according to separate law enforcement and intelligence officials close to the investigation, making him their first known Western recruit.

But Pakistani officials suspect the Taliban kept Shahzad at arms length out of fear he was an American agent. That is reinforced, they say, by the crudeness of the bomb and what one senior Pakistani government official called a "comedy of errors" in how he executed his plot.

"These groups might give disgruntled young people from America some guidance, but they don't expose them to first-rate trainers, nor will they take them into their sanctuary," the senior Pakistani government official said. "What these groups fear is that they're CIA."