Faisal Shahzad: ‘modern boy’ from liberal Pakistani village

Interesting article, and from Pakistan.

of Muslims in the US and around the world. Is there a point when actions no longer meet the criteria of oblectives we set out for and now we alienate the people we are trying to sway to our side.

Just thinking out loud.

I'd like to see him shot in fact, no jury... (well maybe not really ;) )

But... realize that you enter a circle of producing your own enemies when you occupy a nation.

I'm a natural cynic.

This guy was fine as long as his life was going right. He was fine until he lost his job and his house. In that sense, he's a guy who got angry - not because of US policies in the mideast - but because his personal life fell apart.

This guy wasn't radicalized because of the wars, but because his world in America turned out differently than he wanted. In that sense, he's more like the guy who flew a plane into the IRS than the typical terrorist from the mideast. He may claim it was a political act, but it was really a personal act of anger and attempted retribution at those he blames for his fate.

This guy is important because he proves that no matter what the country does, there will be radicalized individuals who think going to war with the country is their solution to personal disappointments.

It would be nice to pretend that this character acted because he was turned off by US policy in Pakistan, but it never bothered him until he lost his job and home. He became a citizen last year. He lost his job and his house. He got mad. Then he got radicalized. He was low hanging fruit for those who want to recruit America based terrorists.

There will be more.

just in a different cultural context...

This guy became a US citizen last year. He was fine with life in the USA until he lost his job and his house. He doesn't get jihadist credit for that. He's just a pissed off loser who blamed the US for his failures in life.

have their rationalizations...

Would al-Qaeda be able to keep recruiting new members if there weren't a steady supply of people from nations and regions where they have no autonomy, no hope and generations of violence? Is terror training simply another way to empower the downtrodden and powerless?

These guys share one main trait: disappointment in where their personal life has led them.

Whether they're homegrown terrorists who lean the direction of Glenn Beck or some Pakistani American who lost his job and house, they're individuals who turned their personal disappointment into a political cause.

The notion that the terrorists are angry villagers from the mideast has never held water. These young men are almost always fairly prosperous products of westernized families. They're not the success their fathers are, however.

But to say that terror groups are comprised solely of privileged, disillusioned men is also inaccurate. Does one's personal comfort always blind one from the suffering that surrounds them?

I used to know some people that were refugees from Salvador. One of them had been an anti-government guerrilla. When I knew him he was a sweet kind man who made pizza. They were all sweet kind people who simply had to escape the death and oppression.

What I'm trying to posit is that desperation drives many people to a point where they lose the ability to feel empathy because everywhere they look is hunger, death and inhumanity.

What I wish is that supposed "first world" nations would quit fomenting chaos in other countries so they can keep buying off despots and dictators in order to exploit natural resources and cheap labor.

than a down on his luck rube.

Yes, there will be more.

An IRS building to me. Someone who couldn't handle his own failure and found an enemy to blame.

No conspiracy needed. Not without some kind of evidence anyway.

there is no telling for sure and I happen to agree with B. Richard above.

I was just joining in with all the other guesses going on here and after reading about his past and all, he would be a good sleeper candidate.

This is worrying. I heard a report on NPR from a modern Paki that made me think they'd be okay. I hope they aren't getting crazy zealous even in the cities.