"Further evidence of gaps in the network of post-9/11 measures.... the latest signal of a communication breakdown"
Oh, you guys are driving me insaaaaaaane! Gotcha!
"Mass. antiterror units in the dark on brother" by Bryan Bender, Peter Schworm, Michael Kranish and Matt Viser | Globe Staff, April 26, 2013
WASHINGTON — Further evidence of gaps in the network of post-9/11 measures....
"When the first bomb went off, she said she immediately thought of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."
I didn't.
As evidence of poor coordination and sharing of information among key security agencies continues to build, the White House has launched an internal investigation of the handling of the Tsarnaev case that will focus on weaknesses in the nation’s system of tracking suspected terrorists.
Obama administration officials have asked the National Counter-Terrorism Center, which coordinates a vast network of databases and terror watchlists, to recreate the steps taken by the FBI, the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security, and others after the Russians began notifying US officials about Tsarnaev.
The investigation will include a review of when Tsarnaev was added to the broadest terrorism watch list (called the Terrorism Identification Datamart Enterprise, or TIDE) at the behest of the CIA in the fall of 2011, and why he was not reinterviewed after a separate alert system informed officials he had traveled to Russia in January 2012.
The White House said earlier this week it has asked agencies to review all aspects of Tsarnaev’s activities. The specific internal investigation by the National Counter-Terrorism Center, including scrutiny of how it maintains its terror watch lists, has not previously been reported.
The Boston Marathon bombings, the first terrorist bomb attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2011....
[sic] Excuse me? I know it's probably only a typo, but this anonymous analyst -- not lying source -- is hammered for that stuff. I understand the slip. What, we all set you back a couple years?
“It is time to reevaluate the list,’’ said Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee who has been critical of the system of watch lists for both unnecessarily singling out innocent people and for not giving sufficient attention to potential threats.
Hard for me to listen to anything Leahy says anymore. At least he's a good, strong, liberal Democrat -- with a Socialist senate mate! TG for Vermont!
The White House-ordered review is also seeking to learn what level of “biometric” data on the suspect was available, including photos, fingerprints, and other information that could have at least helped the FBI identify him from surveillance footage captured at the bombing sites, rather than having to seek public assistance, according to a US intelligence official directly involved.
I'm sick of this crap, sorry.
Before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, terrorist watch lists were kept by several agencies.
Oh, got that one right. Good job.
But in September 2003, under a presidential directive, the government consolidated and expanded its use of the watch lists.
Now various federal intelligence agencies forward nominations to the National Counter-Terrorism Center to place suspects into the TIDE database.
As of December 2011, the TIDE database contained more than 740,000 people, most with multiple spellings and variations of their names, according to the counterterrorism center.
But someone such as Tsarnaev (a citizen of Kyrgyzstan who legally resided in the United States) should be easier to pick out of that vast universe of names, because US citizens and legal permanent residents made up less than 2 percent of the listings.
Being on the TIDE list is not like being on the much-narrower no-fly list. Someone listed on TIDE can can still board the airplane. But it does provide agencies with intelligence and the ability to screen a potential suspect when they leave or reenter the country. There is a separate list, the Terrorist Screening Database, or TSDB, which is administered by the FBI. As of May 2010, the TSDB contained information on 423,000 people, according to FBI data....
Another safeguard developed since 9/11 is the network of fusion centers across the country. They were expressly created to make sure law-enforcement agencies shared terrorist-related information developed by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Obviously they don't work because they were kept in the dark.
That fact that the FBI did not notify the Commonwealth Fusion Center about Russia’s concerns about Tsarnaev, and the FBI’s subsequent inquiry in 2011, struck some observers as the latest signal of a communication breakdown....
That's because THESE GUYS were U.S. INTELLIGENCE ASSETS that were told to be there.
Fusion centers have been controversial since their inception. A US Senate report released last year slammed them for having “ambiguous lines of authority” and for potentially violating civil rights during data-mining projects, and it concluded the centers are undermined by “excessive secrecy.”
You wouldn't even know they were right next door.
--more--"
And what is this about the runners not coming back because of the terror on Boylston street?
Just chalk it up as another lo$$. After all, it's all been done before.
Anyone for lunch?
"In accepting the award, Damon talked about the Boston Marathon bombings. Like everyone else, Damon said, he’s “still in shock and wondering what it all means.” He said he was stunned to learn that 19-year-old bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a graduate of Cambridge Rindge & Latin, where Damon went to high school.
Damon quoted actor Mark Wahlberg, who had described the bomb blasts as “[expletive] disgusting.” Said Damon: “That’s a perfect description for what we all felt viscerally.” Damon was relaxed and without pretense as he talked about his enormous success — and occasional failure.
In the latter category, he placed “Promised Land,” which he co-wrote with John Krasinski. Damon said he thinks it’s a terrific film, an opinion not shared by many critics.
They didn't like his movie about fracking? What a $hocking $urpri$e. Frikkin' leatherheads!
“It’s like a gut punch when it doesn’t connect with the audience,” he said. “But life goes on. One of those [movies] doesn’t mean the end of my career.”
No, not at all. I'm sure when you or Ben put out another agenda-$upporting po$ they will applaud mightily -- maybe even give it an award.
--more--"
And what is this about the runners not coming back because of the terror on Boylston street?
Just chalk it up as another lo$$. After all, it's all been done before.
Anyone for lunch?
"In accepting the award, Damon talked about the Boston Marathon bombings. Like everyone else, Damon said, he’s “still in shock and wondering what it all means.” He said he was stunned to learn that 19-year-old bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a graduate of Cambridge Rindge & Latin, where Damon went to high school.
Damon quoted actor Mark Wahlberg, who had described the bomb blasts as “[expletive] disgusting.” Said Damon: “That’s a perfect description for what we all felt viscerally.” Damon was relaxed and without pretense as he talked about his enormous success — and occasional failure.
In the latter category, he placed “Promised Land,” which he co-wrote with John Krasinski. Damon said he thinks it’s a terrific film, an opinion not shared by many critics.
They didn't like his movie about fracking? What a $hocking $urpri$e. Frikkin' leatherheads!
“It’s like a gut punch when it doesn’t connect with the audience,” he said. “But life goes on. One of those [movies] doesn’t mean the end of my career.”
No, not at all. I'm sure when you or Ben put out another agenda-$upporting po$ they will applaud mightily -- maybe even give it an award.
--more--"
