Foreign Tie Examined in N.Y. Car Bomb

Foreign Tie Examined in N.Y. Car Bomb Investigators now say they are unsure whether the man was a random pedestrian caught on surveillance tape. "It could be totally innocent," said police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Police would neither confirm nor deny rumors the man had contacted authorities.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs characterized the attempted bombing as a terrorist act. "Anybody that has the type of material that they had in a car in Times Square, I would say that was intended to terrorize, absolutely. And I would say that whoever did that would be categorized as a terrorist, yes."

In past probes, the significance of overseas links has varied. In the wake of November's mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, it was learned that suspect Maj. Nidal Hasan communicated with a radical Yemeni-American cleric, though officials say Mr. Hasan acted alone.

U.S. intelligence officials haven't contacted their counterparts in Pakistan about claims of responsibility for the Times Square incident made by the Pakistani Taliban, one official familiar with the matter said Monday, adding that there was no evidence at this point to suggest the group was behind the bombing attempt.

The bomb itself was described by New York City and U.S. officials as crude. And while no suspects have been captured, officials insisted the investigation was on track.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the investigation was making "really substantial progress" and asserted the "people responsible" would be brought to justice.

New York City law-enforcement officials said the Pathfinder was being sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's laboratory in Quantico, Va., for DNA analysis, a complicated process likely to take weeks.

Christmas wreath While the New York City Police Department remains the lead agency on the case, the FBI's New York field office has a 24-hour-a-day operation tracking down any and all leads,law-enforcement officials said.