Homegrown vs foreign terrorism
How much of a concern is the homegrown terror threat in the US?
Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American who has lived in the US for over 10 years, was the mastermind behind the failed car-bomb attack in New York on Saturday.
Within three days, he was arrested at the airport: The FBI removed him from a plane about to take off from John F Kennedy airport to Dubai.
US officials say Shahzad drove the Nissan Pathfinder SUV, loaded with gasoline, propane, fireworks and fertilizer, into the heart of New York, the Times Square, packed with New Yorkers and tourists alike.
Prosecuters say the 30-year old has admitted to the crime. Five others with close ties to Shahzad have also been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the case.
Shahzad is expected to be charged with terrorism acts including to use a weapon of mass destruction, as the debate goes on about al-Qaeda or Taliban involvement.
But Shahzad is a US citizen, so how much of a concern is the homegrown terror threat for the US? And what does it take to wipe out this threat, almost a decade after the 9/11 attacks?
Joining the programme are Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, the vice-president of research at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, Nihad Awad, the executive-director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, and Phil Rees, the author of the book Dining with Terrorists.
This episode of Inside Story aired from Thursday, May 6, 2010.