Times Square Bomber Vowed Martyrdom (But Changed His Mind)

Would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad talks tough in a Taliban martyrdom video made before his attack. In excerpts aired on Arab TV, he vows to exact revenge "for all the mujahedeen who have been martyred" in Iraq and Afghanistan and is seen meeting Pakistani Taliban leaders, reports AP. (ABC points out that Shahzad apparently had a change of heart about the martyr business: Investigators say he ran from the vehicle after rigging a system of alarm clocks as timers to provide time for the escape.)

"Eight years has passed by Afghanistan, and you will see that the Muslim war has just started," says Shahzad in the video, originally intended to be released upon his death. "I really wish that the hearts of the Muslims will be pleased with this attack, God willing." He also predicts that "Islam will spread on the whole world and democracy will be defeated." (More Faisal Shahzad stories.)