The Times just published probably the most detailed account yet of the FBI's surveillance of Faisal Shahzad leading up to his capture. No mention of Army intelligence or spy planes. As the Times tells it, the FBI straight-up lost him.

Man, Shahzad really was this close to making it out of the country: The FBI started surveillance on Shahzad Monday afternoon at his home in Bridgeport Connecticut. But he slipped out, somehow, without their noticing. And by the time there was enough evidence to move on an arrest, Shahzad was already at JFK, buying his ticket to Dubai. "He boarded Emirates Flight 202 sometime before 11 p.m., one official said, around the time the F.B.I. was moving on his home." Only a last-minute cross-check of the Emirates' flight passenger list with Customs officials led to his arrest.

It's safe to say this F.B.I. mix-up shows that shadowy Army intelligence planes weren't tracking Shazhad high above New York, as WCBS originally reported, and as we giddily speculated about. Or is it? [X-files music].