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Times Square bomber says US should 'brace themselves' for war as he receives life sentence
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American man who attempted to kill dozens of people with a car bomb in Times Square, said the US should "brace yourselves" for war as he was sentenced to life in prison.
By Jon Swaine in New York
Published: 4:45PM BST 05 Oct 2010
Mr Shahzad, who described himself as a 'Muslim solider', warned 'brace yourselves because the war with the Muslims has just begun'Photo: AFP
Shahzad, 31, was told at a hearing in a federal court in New York on Tuesday that he had no chance of parole. Before being sentenced a defiant Mr Shahzad, who described himself as a "Muslim solider", delivered a warning to the judge, Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum. "Brace yourselves because the war with the Muslims has just begun," he said.
"The defeat of the US is imminent and will happen in the near future." Mr Shahzad pleaded guilty on June to 10 charges, including conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting an act of terrorism. His Nissan sport utility vehicle was found parked with its engine on in Times Square, one of the country's busiest streets, on May 1. It was packed with fertiliser, petrol, gas, fireworks and two alarm clocks.
The bomb failed to detonate and instead emitted a stream of smoke, which was spotted by a street vendor, who alerted the police. The vehicle and its keys led officers to Mr Shahzad. Mr Shahzad, who lived in Connecticut and worked as a budget analyst, was arrested after being removed from a plane bound for Dubai at the city's John F. Kennedy airport two days later.
He promptly admitted responsibility and told investigators that he had received bomb-making training from the Taliban in Pakistan, which he said had funded attempted bombing. He said he thought the bomb would kill at least 40 people, and that he had planned a second bombing – at an undisclosed location in New York – for two weeks later.
Prosecutors said Mr Shahzad had assembled the bomb at his home, and that he had used the internet to study Times Square in order to maximise damage. Judge Cedarbaum said her sentence was necessary "to protect the public from further crimes of this defendant and others who would seek to follow him."
Mr Shahzad, the son of a retired Pakistani air force marshal, claimed he had acted out of anger about US military action in Muslim states and mistreatment of Muslims elsewhere. Judge Cedarbaum, 81, interrupted Mr Shahzad's pre-sentence statement to ask whether he had not sworn allegiance to the US when he became a citizen last year. "I did swear but I did not mean it," Shahzad said. "So you took a false oath," the judge replied.
