"The Russian Connection: What Can Moscow’s Tip Tell Us About The Boston Bombings?"

[applegrove]

The Russian Connection: What Can Moscow’s Tip Tell Us About The Boston Bombings?

by Hunter Walker at TPM

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/04/the-russian-connection-what-can-moscows-tip-tell-us-about-the-boston-bombings.php

"SNIP...........................................


“It wouldn’t be too surprising for the Russians to ask for information on any Chechen visa applicant — certainly 20-something males,” said Sestanovich.

Both Swift and Sestanovich said that the U.S. government would have had reasons to take Russia’s concerns about Tsarnaev with a grain of salt. Swift suggested Russia’s desire to stamp out extremists in Chechnya motivates some of the information they distribute about the region and that it is his “understanding” that “the Russians have sent us a lot of bad data in the past.”

“One of the things we have to be very careful about is trusting what the Russians tell us, because they have other equities involved. They want to show Chechnya’s part of Al Qaeda, when it’s not. They want to show things that help them politically that may not necessarily be true,” explained Swift. “So, we’ve got to be very careful about how we do our due diligence on the intelligence the Russians give us.”

Sestanovich raised the possibilty the Russians may not actually have had information about Tsarnaev being tied to Chechen rebels.


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[Coyotl]

1. Wow, they sound just like the US at the UN

lying their asses off to go to war.

[leveymg]

2. What would be really surprising is if the US actually gave Moscow any useful information about

Last edited Mon Apr 22, 2013, 03:51 AM - Edit history (1)

Chechan militants. Maybe, the Russians should ask the Saudis - they're always cooperative in helping to prevent Jihadi terrorism in the Caucasus, Syria and former Soviet Republics.

P.S. - Did anyone else pick up on the complete contradiction in the statements of the former US officials quoted in this story?

First this:

"“One of the things we have to be very careful about is trusting what the
Russians tell us, because they have other equities involved. They want
to show Chechnya’s part of Al Qaeda, when it’s not. They want to show
things that help them politically that may not necessarily be true,”
explained (former US Ambassador to Russia) Swift. "

Then this:

"

In recent years, Chechen rebels have moved from a nationalistic ideology to a religious one.
According to Swift, a major factor in this shift is the fact the
different Chechen rebel groups have, over time, consolidated under the
umbrella of Caucasus Emirate, which he describes as “the successor to
all the various groups that have been fighting against Russia since the
1990s.”

“It’s run by a guy named Dokka Umarov. He’s a nasty piece of work.
Ideologically, he and his movement are very much in the same Salafi
jihadi realm as Al Qaeda and movements like Al Qaeda,” Swift explained.

Okay, Dr. Swift. If they think like al Qaeda, and act like al Qaeda, how is the Caucasus Emirate " not part of al Qaeda"? Particularly, one must ask, what difference is there to the Russians if the Caucasus Emirate is, as you acknowledge, " the only (Chechen Jihadi terrorist) organization down there and the only one that matters.”?