Twin explosions rock Boston Marathon

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Oh yeah, RIP to those who died and I hope a safe and speedy recovery for those who were fortunate enough to survive. It's scary stuff and I bet a lot of these people are afraid of even being at public gatherings now.

The bomb was made out of a pressure cooker which is apparently a very common IED construction overseas.

There are many levels of response and analysis.

To those who were killed, who were injured, and to their friends and families, the response is entirely human. These people are the innocent victims of violence which they did not provoke.
To those who were participants, spectators, volunteers and organizers in the marathon, the response is equally human. These were people who were caught up in an episode of violence that may be equally traumatic, but for which the wounds are not visible.
To the helpers: the police, the firefighters, the EMTs, the doctors, the nurses and the others who responded to the violence, the response is gratitude.

But then we move into the more critical reactions.

To the investigators, there is impatience for explanation. The desire to place blame and to punish.
To the security agencies there is the question of what was done to prevent this, what more could have been done, and would that more have neen enough to prevent it?
To the political authorities, there is the question of what provocation was offered to the individual, foreign or domestic, who peretrated this?

The existence of one response does not foreclose the others. I can be sympathetic to victims, grateful to responders, and critical of government all in the same breath. This isn't "taking advantage of tragedy for political reasons," this is being engaged in the world.

It's been said that the devices used were based off a pressure cooker mechanism. These devices have a considerable history of being used by Islamist terror groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal and that they were used in the (ultimately failed) Times Square bombing (also by a Muslim would-be murdering terrorist). Al-Qaeda have promoted these devices in the past in their magazines I believe and have taught their use in terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

my guess. A poor boy wannabe. Very likely third world (nigerian for example). A Muslim male in his early 20s looking to make a name for himself.

I wouldn't rule out North Korean involvement. If it is them, its a master stroke. Its certainly distracted American attention away from them.

The JFK library fire was unrelated to the bombings.

Condolences to the victims.

I think people read too much into the timing of the event. I think the Boston Marathon was targeted simply because it is a high profile event with a high concentration of people. Maximum amount casualties and maximum amount of attention. The event is almost impossible to secure. If somebody cared enough about something symbolic like the date then why would they attack Boston Marathon, what beef could they have with it? People bring up Timothy McVeigh who coincided what he did with the Waco siege but he also had a very specific target.

The method of the bombing seems like that used by Al Qaeda. Pressure cooker bombs have has been used extensively overseas by Jihadists and their use for domestic Jihadists has been promoted in their publications. My guess is a lone wolf or small group of young sympathizers with no formal connections to terrorist organizations overseas. If not, then it really is anybodies guess. It's a scary thought but it's not impossible that we never find who is responsible.

The FBI was unable to thwart this one as it did not plan it from A to Z as it does for every single "plot" it does thwart!

Well, they know what the backpack looks like now so it's just a matter of time before they get a pic of him carrying it. That street was flush with cameras.

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts ... r_suspects