Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Boston Bombings: Here Comes the Second-Guessing
by Daniel Klaidman Apr 19, 2013 2:22 PM EDT
As the manhunt in Boston unfolds, Obama administration officials are already preparing for the inevitable recriminations surrounding the attack and its aftermath
As the extraordinary manhunt for a suspected terrorist played out in Boston, officials on the scene were focused on the unfolding operation. But back in Washington some officials were already warily turning their attention to the second-guessing and finger-pointing that inevitably follows a terrorist incident.
Throughout the intelligence community, officials were scouring terrorist watch lists and monitoring intercepted conversations to learn anything they could about the origins of the attack and whether any threat remained. But one intel professional conceded that they were simultaneously looking out for any evidence that the government could have missed any advanced warnings or failed to connect the dots in the days or weeks before the Boston attacks. At this point its just part of the ritual, the source told The Daily Beast. It goes with the territory.
So far, nothing has emerged publicly to suggest there has been an intelligence failure of any sort. The administrationand especially the FBIhas gotten high marks for its handling of the Boston bombings. President Obama had been widely praised for his firm but restrained public response.
In the first days after a national tragedy like Boston, the country generally rallies around the flag, unites behind law enforcement, and empathizes with the victims of the violence. The media, for its part, is too preoccupied with gathering the basic facts of a fast-moving storyand placing it in some contextto raise questions about how the government might have erred.
But the Obama administration knows the honeymoon wont last. They will have to contend with the what did they know and when did they know it phase of the story soon enough. And in this highly polarized climateparticularly in the emotionally charged area of terrorismObama officials are fatalistically preparing for an onslaught of questions and recriminations.
full article
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/19/the-boston-bombings-here-comes-the-second-guessing.html
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
7 replies, 1257 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Boston Bombings: Here Comes the Second-Guessing (Original Post)
DonViejo
Apr 2013
OP
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)1. I'm surprised Congress
hasn't already scheduled some really predictable kangaroo hearings A la the Benghazi idiocy.
Response to sharp_stick (Reply #1)
Name removed Message auto-removed
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)6. That's very possible but
they'll need to keep the baseless finger pointing work on the back burner just to maintain the local nutjob donations at a reasonable level.
Welcome to DU.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)2. Benghazi II. nt
pscot
(21,024 posts)4. It's hard to see how this could have been prevented
These guys apparently came out of nowhere.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)5. Not to worry, pscot! The flying monkeys...
and their sewer rat friends will figure one way or another to blame Obama
Heather MC
(8,084 posts)7. They are to busy monitoring dark-skinned people
It is a shame that these guys could get grenades, bomb making material and guns, and not one of the monitoring agencies caught this.
I blame the NRA and all the law makers on the NRA payroll