NY bomb suspect 'nearly escaped US' on Dubai flight

Oh, I'd say the authorities would have had a pretty good idea of where he'd be for the next 15 or 16 hours.

I heard an administration official state that it was a customs officer who recognized his name on the flight manifest, which led to his detention. My speculation: customs has a long history of attempting real security; the Theater of Security Assurance perhaps not so much?

I don't buy this. If this guy wanted a ka-boom, he'd succeeded.

And this?

"Despite his name being added to the government's no-fly list on Monday, Mr Shahzad managed to buy a ticket on an Emirates flight to Dubai and made it through JFK's security checks late that evening."

"Mr Shahzad was arrested on Monday 3 May after boarding a flight to Islamabad, Pakistan."

"The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government issued a statement on Wednesday saying Mr Shahzad had been heading for Islamabad in Pakistan, and had been due to change planes in Dubai."

The speculation is that that authorities allowed him to buy a ticket so they could see if he attempted to contact anyone before leaving.

And being able to sneak past TSA doesn't exactly prove you're a criminal mastermind.