Was Boston Marathon Bombing A US 'Intelligence Failure'? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor
House and Senate intelligence committees will ask that question of FBI officials during closed hearings Tuesday about the Boston Marathon bombing. They will want to know if any red flags popped up when Tamerlan Tsarnaev traveled to Russia in 2011-12.
Was the Boston Marathon bombing the result of an intelligence failure? That’s the question members of the House and Senate intelligence committees will be asking senior FBI officials at closed hearings on Tuesday.
In particular they and other lawmakers want to know how Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s six-month trip to Russia in 2011 and 2012 could have escaped the FBI’s attention, despite the fact that he had already been investigated for possible extremist ties.
Senate intelligence panel chairman Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California on Monday said she did not understand why the elder Tsarnaev brother’s visit to his homeland did not ring a bell with the FBI and lead to further interviews.
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My Comment: The Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent FBI response has given everyone an inside look at how the FBI works. But while the FBI is thorough .... from what I have read so far .... they probably never really had a chance to stop this attack. Too many unknowns and too many variables.
What is concerning me now is the following .... to prevent the next attack there are now calls for an increase in general and public surveillance. Is this the right road to follow .... I believe not. Living in a surveillance state is certainly not a solution, and one that I personally do not want to live under.