LANGLEY, VA -- The plan was a standard one in the CIA's war against extremists in Pakistan: The agency was using a Predator drone to monitor a residential compound; a Taliban leader was expected to arrive shortly; a CIA missile would kill him. On the morning of Aug. 5, CIA Director Leon Panetta was informed that Baitullah Mehsud was about to reach his father-in-law's home. Mehsud would be in the open, minimising the risk that civilians would be injured or killed. Panetta authorised the strike, according to a senior intelligence official who described the sequence of events.  

Faisal Shahzad was born in Karachi, Pakistan's financial capital, and later moved to the United States. He became naturalized as a U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009. Mr. Shahzad reportedly returned to Pakistan between July and August 2009, and traveled to Peshawar, a gateway town to areas where the Pakistan army and the Taliban are engaged in conflict.

Not much is known about Shahzad, although officials said some members of his family still reside in North Nazimabad, a middle class suburb of Karachi.

KARACHI (NY Times) -- Mr. Shahzad also told the authorities that he had acted alone, but hours after he was arrested, security officials in Karachi, Pakistan, said they arrested a Pakistani man who had spent time with Mr. Shahzad during a recent visit there. Investigators said they arrested the man, Muhammad Rehan, in a mosque in the North Nazimabad area just after morning prayers. The mosque [Masjid-e-Batah] is known for its links with the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad.

Investigators said Mr. Rehan told them that he had rented a pickup truck and driven with Mr. Shahzad to the northwestern city of Peshawar, where they stayed from July 7 to July 22, 2009.

Pakistan makes arrest(s) in Karachi

ISLAMABAD -- In Pakistan, intelligence officials said at least one man has been detained in the southern city of Karachi in connection with the Times Square case: a man named Tauseef who was a friend of Shahzad. He did not say when the man was picked up.

Another Pakistani official said several people had been taken into custody since the failed attack. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of their work.

(TPM) - Shahzad was able to buy a ticket to Dubai through Emirates Airlines, check in at JFK Airport, pass through security, and get on a plane. Shahzad was taken into custody last night by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officials, after being pulled off Emirates Airlines Flight EK 202, which had just left the gate, government officials have said.

Had Shahzad made it out of the country -- even only to be arrested and returned here after the plane landed in Dubai -- it likely would have caused severe embarrassment and second-guessing in law enforcement and government circles.

RED FLAGS

CBS News adds that it was only thanks to a tip from Emirates Airlines that Shahzad, 30, was nabbed. Emirates notified the Department of Homeland Security that it had received a last-minute request for an all-cash purpose of a one-way ticket to Dubai -- all of which are red flags.

Late Update: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed today that Shahzad was put on the no-fly list yesterday, ABC News reports. She added that the government only became aware of his presence on the flight -- presumably after being tipped off by the airline -- after the manifest was completed.

ABC offers a potential reason why Shahzad was able to get on the plane: the government only checks people's documents as they enter the U.S., not as they exit.

Investigators were able to track wannabe terrorist Faisal Shahzad through his anonymous, pre-paid cell phone -- exactly how, they won't say. But there was a tantalizing explanation posted -- and then quickly yanked -- from the website of WCBS TV. "In the end, it was secret Army intelligence planes that did him in. Armed with his cell phone number, they circled the skies over the New York area, intercepting a call to Emirates Airlines reservations, before scrambling to catch him at John F. Kennedy International Airport."

Jeremy Scahill, relying on a source in U.S. Special Operations, says those planes were likely RC-12s, equipped with a Guardrail Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) system.