IT WAS ALL RUSSIA’S FAULT?
The timing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest rash of post-Olympic muscle-flexing couldn’t have played better into the multilateral effort by U.S. agencies to displace blame regarding last year’s marathon attack. Needless to say, Putin’s micro-phallus and administration’s clear aggression have no direct link to the tragedy that flamed Boston last Marathon Monday. But that doesn’t mean top federal officials and American apologists won’t throw Moscow and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) under a tank in their all-points manhunt for scapegoats.
Since the release last week of an “Unclassified Summary of Information Handling and Sharing Prior to the April 15, 2013 BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS”–a partially redacted report by the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security–most media outlets have echoed the summary finding that the “FBI, CIA, DHS, and NCTC generally shared information and followed procedures appropriately.” That sounds encouraging, still this is one of those times when it’s especially important to check the source material, or else run the risk of sitting ringside at the Rocky Balboa School of Journalism, where a phantom Red Menace bears most of the blame. For the Hollywood version of events, by all means peruse reports like “Russia Didn’t Share All Details on Boston Bombing Suspect, Report Says” (NY Times), “Russia omitted details on Boston Marathon bombing suspect” (AOL), and “Russia hid information from FBI on Boston Marathon bomber” (NY Daily News). But for the Real Deal Holyfield edition, read through the unclassified summary while asking the same question during every refrain, “And it was all Russia’s fault?”
In 2011, two years before the Boston Marathon bombings, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva came to the attention of the FBI based on information received from the [Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation] …
And it was all Russia’s fault?
On March 9, 2011, the LEGAT in Moscow sent a letter to the FSB acknowledging receipt of the information and requesting that it keep the FBI informed of any details it developed on Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. The LEGAT also sent the translated memorandum to the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division (CTD) and the FBI Boston Field Division with leads to both components “to take any investigative steps deemed appropriate and provide [LEGAT] Moscow with any information derived, for dissemination to the [FSB].”
And it was all Russia’s fault?
As described in more detail in the classified report, the [U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General] DOJ OIG’s access to certain information was significantly delayed at the outset of the review by disagreements with FBI officials over whether certain requests fell outside the scope of the review
And it was all Russia’s fault?
FBI officials disagreed about the significance of Tsarnaev’s travel to Russia and whether it should have resulted in further investigative action … The [FBI Counterterrorism] Agent said that the travel would not have been significant because the assessment was closed and the FBI already had asked the Russians for additional derogatory information. When asked whether he would have considered taking further investigative steps had he learned of the travel at the time, the [FBI Counterterrorism] Agent said that he would not have done anything differently.
And it was all Russia’s fault?
However, other FBI officials stated that the information would have been important to the FBI. The [FBI Counterterrorism] Supervisor told the DOJ OIG that he was unaware of Tsarnaev’s travel to Russia until after the bombings, and that he would have expected the [FBI Counterterrorism] Agent to tell him in January 2012 about the TECS hit indicating that Tsarnaev was about to travel to Russia.
And it was all Russia’s fault?
The DOJ OIG determined that the [FBI Counterterrorism] did not take certain steps during the assessment, including contacting local law enforcement, visiting the mosque that Tsarnaev attended, and conducting interviews of Tsarnaev’s wife … The DOJ OIG also determined that the [FBI Counterterrorism] Agent did not attempt to elicit certain information during interviews of Tsarnaev and his parents, including information about Tsarnaev’s plans to travel to Russia, changes in lifestyle, or knowledge of and sympathy for militant separatists in Chechnya and Dagestan. The [FBI Counterterrorism] Agent told the DOJ OIG that he did not know why he did not ask about plans to travel to Russia.
The list goes on … and it was all Russia’s fault?
THE STRONG SONG
We were going to obnoxiously step all over the carpetbagging journo jocks at Sports Illustrated for their entirely trite and opportunistic move to shoot this week’s cover story on the marathon finish line last weekend. Dubbed “Boston Strong,” SI Managing Editor Chris Stone described the undertaking as “a story about people, ordinary people doing extraordinary things, ordinary people doing ordinary things,” and of “Bostonians who wrote the Boston Strong story.” As noted, we had planned to dismiss their stunt, but since this is a moment of celebration and healing–and because there will be plenty of time next week to acknowledge all the narcissistic anniversary nonsense and T-shirt profiteering running rampant in the city–it seemed more appropriate for now to quote a few lines from the story under NPR’s Understated Headline of the Year, “A Year After Bombings, Some Say ‘Boston Strong’ Has Gone Overboard” …
The phrase Boston Strong emerged almost immediately after last year’s marathon bombings as an unofficial motto of a city responding to tragedy. But now some are wondering whether the slogan is being overused …
The words are everywhere: Boston Strong is plastered on cars, cut into the grass at Fenway, tattooed on arms, bedazzled on sweatshirts and printed on T-shirts (and everything else) …
Psychologist and author Joseph Burgo says he understands the underlying feelings of solidarity and defiance, but he can’t help but cringe at people feeling that their every sentiment has to be tweeted or posted or–literally–worn on their sleeves …
“I mean, why wear anything? I think there’s a kind of a feeling that unless you share your experience with other people it isn’t entirely real to you unless you announce it to other people,” Burgo says. “It’s just part of this narcissistic culture of ours where everything is about self-display.”
Now that sounds like a T-shirt slogan we can get behind.
