Remember that blaming bin Laden and Al Qaeda for 9/11, and the Taliban for sheltering them, became justification for attacking and invading Afghanistan, then Iraq 18 months later based on bogus weapons of mass destruction claims and suggesting Saddam's involvement in 9/11.
Today, the Obama administration "cautions" about the Pakistani Taliban's involvement with Shahzad, one step short of accusing them, Al Qaeda, and other so-called terrorist groups (including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, the Haqqani Network, and Kashmiri elements) to have pretext for stepped up war and increased homeland crackdowns, for sure coming with the public being manipulated to accept them.
Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Azam Tariq, however, claimed no involvement in the Times Square incident or information about the video claiming it. "We don't even know (Shahzad)," he said. Pakistani (ISI) intelligence officials also expressed skepticism about the Taliban's ability to attack America.
"Unprivileged enemy belligerent" status places designees in legal limbo, denies them due process in civil proceedings, and condemns them to military prosecutorial injustice with no right of appeal, even if sentenced to death. Torture-extracted testimonies will be allowed, despite their illegality and unreliability. Henceforth, judicial fairness will be null and void, replaced by political expediency that condemns innocent victims to prison hell.
