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[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]Jsteele, given what we know at this stage about the brother's sentiments and activities - which admittedly is still not a lot - can you please elaborate on what you see as "other, equally possible, explanations" for the bombing??

And please don't take this the wrong way, but you have a personal link to this part of the world as you've mentioned here in the past? Is that coloring your interpretation of these events? I'm not accusing, just curious - I work on related issues and I have to say my own interpretation is absolutely shaped by what I know about the linkages between Chechens and a variety of different terrorist activities, including and especially Al Qaeda. But I thought the oped today (NYT? I think) that posed the question about whether this is a case of Columbine meeting Beslan was interesting, and deeply scary. I just don't yet see the Columbine part here.[/quote]

First, I'll respond about my personal links. I originally came to Washington to study the Middle East at Georgetown. During my studies at Georgetown, I took a year off to study Arabic in Kuwait. During that year and in later years, I travelled quite a bit in the Middle East. So, I have a pretty strong attachment to that part of the world. Separate from that, I am married to a Georgian. Georgia, as you know, borders Chechnya and the problems in Chechnya have often spilled over into Georgia. As a result, I've learned quite a bit about Chechnya and Chechens over the years.

Do these personal ties color my interpretation? Absolutely. I think those ties help me be better informed.

Since the bombs went off, [b]there has been a rash of posts here, similar to things appearing in other media, that suggest the bombs were part of an ongoing, coordinated war by radical Muslims (with "radical" sometimes not included).[/b] I have hoped, and continue to hope, that this is not the case. But, regardless of those sentiments, the more I have learned about the bombings and the apparent perpetrators, the less I believe this interpretation. So, if the bombings are not part of some monolithic war against the US being waged by radical Muslims, what were they? I don't know the answer to this, so I've been tossing out possibilities.

What has come out today about the Tsarnaev brothers makes me think it is even less likely this is some part of an al-Qaida-like attack. The brothers apparently never lived in Chechnya. They went from Kyrgyzstan to Dagestan to the US. They were not affected by war-torn Chechnya and the violence that occurred there.

With regard to Tamerlan's attachment to Islam, it doesn't strike me as out of the ordinary. Some people seem to think that one Youtube video of a radical Imam is enough to prove he is a fanatical Muslim. I don't know that there is anything to be learned from his Youtube account, but we watched all the videos there today. One is about Sufi Islam. The type of Muslims that wage attacks against civilians are Salafist and hate Sufis. He had a music video that was a poem in Arabic, but had two that were of Western pop music -- and super cheesy at that. Tamerlan may be a more devote Muslim than I originally suspected, but I still don't see signs of the type of radicalism the general public seems to believe are there.

So what causes two seemingly normal young men to blow up innocent men, women, and children? One idea I have suggested is brain damage suffered by Tamerlan as a result of boxing. But, that doesn't really explain Dzhokhar. Then I noted that they have no visible means of support. Yet, Dzhokhar was seen wearing and bragging about $900 shoes. Where is the money coming from?  I suspect criminal ties. I don't know what would motivate a criminal gang to blow up the marathon, but I could see a criminal gang forcing them to do it.

There is the suggestion that the brothers were simply alienated from American society and wanted to undertake a Columbine-like act of violence in protest. This also doesn't add up for me.

I think as more information comes out, this case will begin to look a lot different than it does now. For most of the day yesterday, we were told that not only had the brothers robbed a 7-11, but there was film of them doing it. Now we are told they didn't rob it. How much else of what we have been told will turn out to be wrong?

One other thing I read today is that Tamerlan got out of the carjacked SUV and tried to throw an explosive at the police. That either failed to ignite or blew up in his hand -- I've seen both reported. He then fired his gun until he ran out of ammunition and was tackled by police. He was later found to have an explosive and triggering mechanism strapped to his body. The immediate explanation is that this explosive was to commit suicide. But, when he was about to be tackled, that would have been the obvious time to trigger it.  Another explanation is that he kept explosives strapped to his body the way soldiers hang grenades on a belt -- so that he could have quick access to them. Because the explosives were improvised, they had to have a triggering mechanism. So, it's possible he had no intention of blowing up himself, but rather the explosive was meant to be used against others. An al-Qaida-type attacker would have been much more likely to commit a suicide attack.

I could go on, but there is a lot that doesn't make sense. We'll just have to see how things play out.
[/quote]

I think you are over -reacting Jeff, and if you were a journalist, I think you'd be called on the carpet for allowing personal attachments to seep into the way you try to steer/ control the message on this forum.[b] You should be able to hear that criticism.[/b]

I have only skimmed the thread, but if there is a single post on here that says ver batim , " the brothers are another example of the world wide  coordinated war by muslims" I have yet to see it on this thread.

Yes, people are angry, and people are sick of this, and have a right to be upset at seeing 8 year olds killed and 6 year olds with their legs blown off.

True, nearly 1 Million Iraqis are dead because of us, and their blood is equal to ours. It is true that out media dehumanizes Arabs , and muslims in general, and frankly I'd like to see us kick Israel to the curb, and take the side of justice once and for all over there.

But that does not make me less angry seeing American children with their legs blown off, and dead 8 year olds, killed by someone we took in , gave a scholarship to, made one of our own and, in the case of Katherine and her family, loved.

Its infuriating. And what they did is wrong.[/quote]

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