The Pakistani Taliban are sending conflicting messages regarding their involvement with Times Square terror suspect Faisal Shahzad. A Taliban spokesman on Thursday denied the group's involvement with Shahzad, but said the Pakistani Taliban will expand their focus to include western targets, including the U.S.

The man who attempted to detonate explosives aboard Northwest Flight 253 had been reported to the U.S. embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, by his father, a prominent Nigerian banker who expressed concerns that his son was becoming radicalized. Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and professor of security studies at Georgetown University, says U.S. security still needs improvement.

It’s been eight years since the terrorist organization al-Qaida attacked the U.S., hijacking airplanes, destroying the twin towers of the World Trade Center, damaging the Pentagon, and killing hundreds on Flight 93 and thousands elsewhere. Although the organization is not as robust as it was in 2001, it remains a serious security threat; its top leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, are still at large. For an insider's take on what the hunt for al-Qaida entails we are joined by former CIA agent Art Keller, who spent the last few months of his career in Pakistan, hunting top al-Qaida operatives. We also speak to Bruce Hoffman, terrorism expert and professor of security studies at Georgetown University.

The Takeaway is continuing its coverage of the foiled New York City terror plot. Four men were arrested in an alleged plot to bomb two synagogues in New York City and shoot down military planes in Newburgh, N.Y. According to law enforcement officers, the plan was "aspirational" -- that is, it wasn't close to being realized. How did operatives infiltrate the group and quash their plans? And how did they decide when to bust the would-be bombers? To help answer those questions we turn to Bob Hennelly, a reporter at WNYC, and to Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the RAND corporation.

More of The Takeaway's coverage of the terror plot:
A Terror Plot in New York City