NY bomb suspect seen as good recruit for militants

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani-American accused of trying to explode a bomb in Times Square was able to move easily between the two countries and came from a family of wealth and privilege — a near-perfect background for an international terrorist group wanting to steal into the United States and launch an attack.

Relatives and friends in Pakistan said Wednesday that Faisal Shahzad showed no sign of radicalization before he left for the United States at age 18 to study, and that he and his family were not religious.

Shahzad's last journey to Pakistan was a five-month trip that ended in February.

One relative said he noticed a difference in him only after he had spent several years in the U.S.

"I saw a little change in him. When he was here, he was not religious-minded. But he was when he came back from the United States," said Nasir Khan, a relative in the family's ancestral village of Mohib Banda in northwest Pakistan. He said he remembered Shahzad talking about the problems of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Authorities say Shahzad has admitted his role in the bombing plot and is cooperating with investigators, but they don't yet know whether others were involved. U.S. officials said Wednesday they've been unable to verify statements that Shahzad trained to make bombs at a terrorist camp in Pakistan, according to the complaint against him, and haven't linked him to any terrorist group.

The susceptibility of Muslim immigrants — or their offspring — to extremist, violent forms of Islam has long been noted. The most often cited reason for this is the ability of Islam to give people a clear sense of identity in an unfriendly and confusing environment.

The four suicide bombers who attacked the London transportation system in 2005 were British Muslims, two of whom who had traveled to Pakistan. Five young Americans — two of Pakistani descent — are on trial in Pakistan facing terrorism charges. One left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and casualties, and saying Muslims must be defended.

"He had a good life back home before he came to the United States, so the question is, 'What went wrong?'" said Kamran Bokhari, an analyst with STRATFOR, a private security think tank in Austin, Texas. "I suspect he never integrated into mainstream American life and was susceptible to conspiracy theories about Muslims being under threat."

Shahzad, who became a U.S. citizen last year, is accused of trying to detonate a crude gasoline-and-propane bomb inside an SUV in bustling Times Square on Saturday evening.