Things go boom

[Cain]

On a side not, Cain, am I right in thinking that the difference between "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" lies solely in the politics of the person using the word, or is there some other distinguishing factor beyond "radicals we like" and "radicals we don't like"?

Pretty much.

I mean, I suppose you could say a freedom fighter in theory limits themselves to military targets, and holds their organization to the same level of standards as a westernized military force...but most militaries dont respect noncombatants all that much. 

[Cain]

I'm also getting that feeling -- then again, my main source of actual information about the bombings is in this thread, so it may be your persuasive arguments.

I'm getting most of my information from the Boston Globe, Guardian, Telegraph and NYT, mixed in with my pre-existing knowledge of the Chechen situation, how the CIA conducts itself and Islamic extremism generally.

[Cain]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324244304578475300856008018.html?mod=wsj_streaming_stream

Things Russia knew but did not pass on to US intelligence:

(Possibly) that Canadian alleged extremist William Plotnikov –whom Russia killed last July — had implicated Tamerlan as an associate in 2010
The original tip from the FSB provided incorrect birth dates for Tamerlan
FSB provided no response to three requests for more information from FBI
Texts from Tamerlan's mother telling another relative he'd be interested in joining jihad
Details from Tamerlan's trip to Russia in which FSB alleges he met with militants

And maybe I was wrong to dismiss the recent CIA spy story out of Moscow:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323716304578482660056321772.html?mod=itp

Mr. Fogle had been trying to recruit a Russian intelligence services officer responsible for fighting Islamist terrorists in Russia's Caucasus region, the Federal Security Service said.

So the Russians aint exactly looking squeaky clean in this story either.

[LMNO]

I doubt anyone is.  Seems to me like different factions were pushing the kid towards jihad, for different reasons.

[Cain]

The Russians may have figured he intended an attack in America, and decided that allowing it to proceed would do more harm to the Chechen cause than a mere attempted attack.

[Cain]

Well, look at that. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57584771/boston-bombings-suspect-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-left-note-in-boat-he-hid-in-sources-say/

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a note claiming responsibility for the April 13 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller.

Sources tell Miller that Tsarnaev wrote the note in the boat he was hiding in as police pursued him, and as he bled from gunshot wounds sustained in an earlier shootout between police and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It reads as part manifesto, part suicide note, and part justification for the killing and maiming of innocent civilians.

The note — scrawled with a marker on the interior wall of the cabin — said the bombings were retribution for U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, and called the Boston victims "collateral damage" in the same way Muslims have been in the American-led wars. "When you attack one Muslim, you attack all Muslims," Tsarnaev wrote.

I suppose that solves any problems that could arise from having questioned someone while doped up.

This is unusual, though.

The discovery of writings intensified tensions between the FBI and local police when FBI agents believed some Boston officers and state police had taken cell phone pictures of the writing.

Agents demanded the phones of all officers at the scene the night of the capture of Dzhokhar be confiscated to avoid the photos becoming public before being used as evidence at trial, according to two law enforcement officials.

A FBI spokesperson said agents cannot confiscate phones without a warrant and officials said none of the police approached would agree to turn over their phones to the FBI.

If the FBI documented the scene properly, the photos shouldn't be a big issue.  Sure, tainted jury blah blah blah, but let's face it, the High Value Interrogation Group leaks are doing that anyway.

[LMNO]

That's awfully... convenient.

[Cain]

Interesting, if true:

While the reality of Gladio's existence in Europe is a matter of historical record, Edmonds contended the same strategy was adopted by the Pentagon in the 1990s in a new theatre of operations, namely, Asia. "Instead of using neo-Nazis, they used mujahideen working under various bin Ladens, as well as al-Zawahiri", she said.

The last publicly known Gladio meeting occurred in NATO's Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC) in Brussels in 1990. While Italy was a focal point for the older European operations, Edmonds said that Turkey and Azerbaijan served as the main conduits for a completely new, different set of operations in Asia using veterans of the anti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan, the so-called "Afghan Arabs" that had been trained by al-Qaeda.

These new Pentagon-led operations were codenamed 'Gladio B' by FBI counterintelligence: "In 1997, NATO asked [Egyptian President] Hosni Mubarak to release from prison Islamist militants affiliated to Ayman al-Zawahiri [whose role in the assassination of Anwar Sadat led to Mubarak's ascension]. They were flown under U.S. orders to Turkey for [training and use in] operations by the Pentagon", she said.

Azerbaijan was heavily, if unofficially, involved in sustaining the Chechen jihad.  Azerbaijan's post-Soviet leadership also had ties to the original Gladio in Turkey - the Grey Wolves of the MHP.  Said leadership turned to the "Afghan Arabs", to use them as special forces and infiltrators in their war against Georgia.

I would not be surprised if Gladio B were still running, or had moved onto Gladio C or even D in the wake of 9/11 and the subsequent phases of the War on Terror.  But the evidence is...rather thinner than that which exists for the original Gladio.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

That's awfully... convenient.

This.

Did they take the guy's boat?

[EK WAFFLR]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/22/18418012-man-with-ties-to-boston-bombing-suspect-shot-during-fbi-questioning?lite

[Junkenstein]

Officials say FBI agents were questioning Todashev on Tuesday.  He was cooperative at first, they say, but late Tuesday night, he attacked the agent, who shot and killed him.
The officials say Todashev had some connections with radical Chechen rebels, but they say it's not clear whether he had any role in radicalizing Tsarnaev.
"We are currently responding to a shooting incident involving an FBI special agent," FBI Special Agent Dave Couvertier said in a statement to NBC News.
"The incident occurred in Orlando, Florida. The agent encountered the suspect while conducting official duties," Couvertier said. "We do not have any further details at this time. We expect to have more information later this morning."

Fucking clowns. I can guess how many "Further details" are going to be released willingly.

The FBI is going to find itself on a terrorist watchlist at this rate. They certainly seem to be acting like that to the populace at large.

[Cain]

I definitely want those "further details" on this shooting.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Holy fuck. Just when I was thinking they'd stooped as low as they could go with gitmo concentration camp and drone strike terrorism, now we have summary executions on home turf. Judge Dredd eat yer heart out 

[Faust]

If you shoot all the suspects in a case you are bound to get the people responsible. Good job guys.

[P3nT4gR4m]

If you shoot all the suspects in a case you are bound to get the people responsible. Good job guys.

Actually you have a pile of rotting meat and no way of finding out if one of them is the bad guy or if he's still out there. Or shooting the suspects.