Do you think there is a lot more to find out with the Marathon bombers?

[kentuck]

Like, why did the older brother go to Russia for 6 months? And what did he do while he was there and where did he go?

Does the Russian government know about him? How much did they know?

Was he/they on the Russian payroll? Did the KGB have anything to do with the bombing? And if so, what could possibly have been their incentive?

Or was it just two disturbed youths that decided to carry it all out on their own?

It sounds like a deep spy novel once you begin to think about it...

[Warren Stupidity]

1. No. They were freelancing.

[El Supremo]

2. There hasn't a KGB since 1991.

I want to know who "radicalized" them.

[Bolo Boffin]

3. I don't think there's much more.

Surprise, surprise.

They may have had some help here and there, but they had zero escape plans. I haven't seen what they had as weaponry, but building pressure cooker bombs is about as low-tech as it gets.

[KoKo]

15. Why didn't they have "escape" plans, though?

That's a question I would have. Why did the younger one "reportedly" go back to UMASS campus and attent a party the day after? Is that a person who was worried about needing an escape plan?

I also have questions about how one fits a loaded 6 liter Pressure Cooker filled with ball bearings and nails into a back pack and not have a huge bulge that would give it away or even drag down the back pack. My experience with Pressure Cookers is that once filled with water they were damned hard to even lift much less stuff in a backpack. And there were two of them and yet the second backpack is off the shoulder on one side of one of the brothers and not looking like it is weighting him down or ready to drop off.

Where is the interview with the person they drove around in the SUV for half an hour and let go? And how did they get grenades and another Pressure Cooker into the SUV they stole. They lit and threw a Pressure Cooker at the Cops. Not easy thing to do in a stress situation lifting that thing out of the car and giving aim. Also were did they have all the assault weapons along with grenades and Pressure Cooker stored if they robbed a 7/11 and then the Black SUV which they then loaded the stuff into.

Also, the boat was closer to where he ditched the Black SUV which he ran from injured. Why were the police all over Watertown Neighborhood when he was closer to the neighborhood where he was found in the boat when the SUV was abandoned. Wouldn't there be a trail of blood they might have followed from the SUV. Was there ever a photo of the "bullet riddled" SUV? If the cops saw the window broken and blood on the seat or door...they would have known he was badly injured and wouldn't make it back to his home.

That's it... My questions.

[texanwitch]

24. Good questions there.

The younger brother's backpack looked like it was on his shoulder, not on his back.

[marions ghost]

31. they didnt rob the 7-11, that seems to be untrue

I think they knew he was in the neighborhood when they lifted the stay inside request. And soon after the guy who owned the boat called.

I agree we are missing some photos...where's the National Enquirer?

[Bolo Boffin]

34. Not having escape plans suggests the conspiracy was no larger than the two of them.

Any group or organization that they could have exposed would have helped them get away.

As for the rest of your questions, you aren't seriously suggesting that these two brothers had nothing to do with this attack, are you? The pictures of them with the backpacks that subsequently exploded while the brothers sat back and took in the event at the very least show they were involved.

You're also onto some bad information - not your fault. Everything you've said has been stated at some point. But according to this timeline:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/19/justice/boston-marathon-timeline/index.html

They threw grenades and pipe bombs at police. The pressure cooker bomb was recovered. Nothing about it being tossed at police. They also didn't rob the 7-Eleven. That's a story that has been withdrawn by police.

And unless you have experience carrying loaded pressure cooker bombs in backpacks, I'm taking your question there with a grain of salt. You simply can't judge how easy or difficult it would be from the pictures that have been released.

[newmember]

35. Why didn't they have "escape" plans, though

Maybe they did but they weren't finished.

Maybe they were left high and dry by who ever was suppose to help them
after they were IDED.

Maybe they just planned to not make it out alive.
One was wearing a vest

[FarCenter]

36. A 6 liter pressure cooker is about 11" diameter x 9 " high, weighs about 8 pounds

Throw in several pounds of shrapnel, add a few pounds of black powder.

It is small enough and light enough to easily fit in a backpack with a little padding to ensure the right shape.

[gateley]

4. I don't think there's much more -- except for details.

I think it's ASSUMED the elder got a boost of radical juice when he was in Russia.

The Russian govt did know about him because they asked the Feds to look at him in 2011 -- if he was on Russia's payroll, doubt if they'd alerted the Feds to his presence.

My feeling (and my feeling was totally wrong initially when I thought it was just two Columbine-type guys, no political or religious agenda) is that we know the big picture, but need important details.

[riderinthestorm]

5. I do. Not sure why I think that but I do. The trip overseas by BOTH of them last year is suspicious

The Russian offer to help, almost immediately, is suspicious.

If Chechnya, specifically the Dagustan region with the capital of Makhachkala where the rest of the Tsarnaev family is located, weren't so inflamed already with radical Islamism I might believe differently.

But that area sure isn't a sunny beach in CA. Its crazy land there. Who knows what happened to the two guys while there were there.

Furthermore, I DO wonder at the unsolved murder of Brendan Mess. I think there's more there as well.

Lastly, I am deeply troubled by how the younger brother Dzhokhar was pulled so badly off his path. What happened there?

[DonCoquixote]

8. Russia does not surprise me

Like it or not, this gave Vlad Putin a shot in the arm, as he will be able to say "see, these Chechnyans are evil, they even risked war with America!" Dzofar and Tameraln might as well have given Vlad a hunting license, with a big cartoon sign that says "It's Chechnyan season!" Do not forget, many Moscovites remember the terror incidents Chechyans pulled off, so the idea the the US will not lose sleep over an atrocity or two will cause many a bottle of Vodka to be poured.

Which of course, if there is a Hell, Tamerlane Tsareav is probably learning right now, what better torment than to know he just helped his enemies out.

[kentuck]

26. Where is the link?

That the youngest went overseas also? I had not read that.

[riderinthestorm]

27. Here

Zaur Tsarnaev said he most recently expressed his concerns about Tamerlan -- the alleged bomber pictured in a dark hat in FBI videos released Thursday -- to Dzhokhar when Dzhokar visited last summer. He added that Dzhokhar went to mosque sometimes but he was “never an extremist.”

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/19/bombing-suspects-were-local-normal-immigrants/AGztkXv4Y9b6sfAsVzcDQO/story.html

[kwassa]

6. The Russian government asked us to check him out.

I think, as an unspecified foreign government asked the FBI to check out the older brother. Russia has a deep interest in Chechens.

I think what we have is an influential and delusional older brother swaying his younger brother to his imaginary cause.

[Quantess]

7. I am awaiting young #2 to explain himself.

We don't even know the motivation yet.
So, yes, there is more to find out, obviously.

[Loge23]

9. I think we should stop speculating.

Let justice take it's course - as difficult as that will be under the circumstances.
Do we only engage for wild speculation for "foreign" lunatics?

Let's not forget that the surviving alleged assailant is an American citizen, as if that's significant.

[kentuck]

10. Sir!

Yes Sir! Some might have thought it was "wild speculation" if you said they might be Russian or Chechuan? Yes, one became a citizen last year but what does that prove??

[Stretch714]

11. I just want to know why they did it

[riderinthestorm]

12. Me too. Welcome to DU!

[OneMoreDemocrat]

13. Yep...

.

[spin]

14. In my opinion the incident proves once again that religious extremists can be dangerous. ...

It really doesn't matter what their religion is.

I'm not saying that I am down on religion as I have met many very decent religious people who practiced their faith in a positive manner. On the other hand I have also known atheists and agnostics who were very moral and helped others.

[Lex]

16. The KGB?

For reals? I don't think they exist anymore. The Soviet Union and its collapse?

[kentuck]

17. Putin was KGB..

and he is still around?

[Lex]

18. He was former KGB because there WAS a KGB of course.

Not sure I get your point.

[kentuck]

19. Yes if...

we assume they all disappeared into thin air after the breakup of the Soviet Union?

[TomClash]

20. You mean the FSB

The KGB was disbanded in 1991 and replaced with the FSB.

[kentuck]

23. Sort of like the OSS...

became the CIA?

[TomClash]

33. Not really

The US did not undergo a revolution when that change was made.

[riderinthestorm]

21. Yeah right. If you don't think the KGB isn't interchangeable with the "new" FSB, I've got a bridge

to sell you.

They are one and the same.

And Putin is a past master.

Same as it ever was. If you want to argue semantics its fine but its still the same agency.

[Lex]

22. Hahaha. Did the OP say "FSB"? But thanks for playing. nt

[riderinthestorm]

25. I have no problem with using KGB and FSB interchangeably. Since they are the same

But if you feel you need to get into semantics games, go nuts.

I'm not a purist. I knew exactly what the OP meant.

I don't get into "shaming" other DUers over petty shit like this.

YMMV

[Cleita]

28. I know. I thought so too. I wonder if one of them could have been reading them

and thought real life could be the same.

[wercal]

29. There may be more to the story...

But the Russian government did not help them. These guys are associated with terrorists in Chechnya....think Beslan massacre. The Russian government is just as opposed to these guys as we are.

[LisaL]

30. Yes.

But considering Russia tried to warn US about the older one, I sincerely doubt they were on Russian payroll.

[WinkyDink]

32. 1. Why did the FBI monitor him? 2. How did the FBI drop the ball? 3. Who slit the throat

of the dead brother's "only American friend," and why?
http://www.businessinsider.com/murder-of-brendan-mess-the-best-friend-of-boston-bombing-suspect-tamerlan-tsarnaev-2013-4

[FarCenter]

37. Yes, there is lots more.

Like, why did the older brother go to Russia for 6 months? And what did he do while he was there and where did he go?

Ostensibly to see the father and relatives, but most likely to see spritual leaders and/or receive tactical training.

Does the Russian government know about him? How much did they know?

Yes, since they asked the FBI about him. The FSB almost certainly kept him under surveillance as much as they could while he was in Dagestan.

Was he/they on the Russian payroll? Did the KGB have anything to do with the bombing? And if so, what could possibly have been their incentive?

It's extremely unlikely that the SVR would have anything to do with instigating a terrorist act on US soil. It would possibly be a ploy to condition US public opinion away from Chechens being "freedom fighters" and towards Chechens being "terrorists". But it is too risky that a plot would unravel.

Or was it just two disturbed youths that decided to carry it all out on their own?

No, it seems clear from Tamerlan's change in attitude in recent years that he at least sought out religious inspiration. Most likely, once his bona fides as an adherent had been proven (possibly by the Waltham triple-murder), he would have been induced into a cell,

It sounds like a deep spy novel once you begin to think about it...

LeCarre?