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Many media accounts Tuesday suggest that the federal government nearly missed their man. Since Shahzad bought his ticket with cash shortly before the plane was set to leave, law enforcement officials only realized that Shahzad was on the Emirates flight when they received the official list of passengers 30 minutes before takeoff, according to these reports.

But another possibility is that the government is cannier than Shahzad expected, experts say. For his part, Attorney General Eric Holder says he was never worried that the chief suspect in the bombing attempt was going to get away.

According to Mr. Holder at a press conference Tuesday, law enforcement officials had identified the Pakistani-born naturalized American as a suspect on Monday afternoon. He very quickly went on a “no-fly list.”

Once he went on a no-fly list, someone had to override the computer, says former federal agent Joseph King, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York who specializes in terrorism and homeland security.

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Experts suggest the feds might have wanted to see if Faisal Shahzad was meeting anyone before they arrested him.

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