Boston bombingTamerlan Tsarnaev's name was on U.S. terror watchlist since 2011

Tamerlan Tsarnaev (r.) and brother Dzokhar // Source: baoday.net

In March 2011, after being contacted by the Russian security services, the CIA added the name of Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the U.S. government’s terror watchlist. DHS secretary Janet Napolitano told lawmakers that Tamerlan’s travel to Dagestan, and his arrival back in the United States, were “pinged” by the department. Lawmakers, led by Senators John McCain (R-Arizona), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), have raised questions about whether the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement community has dropped the ball on the Tsarnaev brothers.

Fox News reports that in October 2011, the CIA circulated information to many federal agencies and to “the watchlisting system” about Tamerlan Tsarnaev. That move put him in the vast Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) database of people suspected of having ties to terrorism cases.

The FBI was informed of the Russian security services’ assertions that the older Tsarnaev brother was a “follower of radical Islam” and was preparing to travel to a foreign country, probably for the purpose of joining a jihadi group. The FBI interviewed Tsarnaev and family members, but concluded that there was not sufficient information to substantiate the Russian claims.

The Washington Post reports that in July 2012 a U.S. counterterrorism task force received a warning that a suspected Islamic militant had returned from a lengthy trip to Russia. The warning was conveyed to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official assigned to Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, a unit consisting of terrorism specialists from federal and local law enforcement agencies. The Boston task force is part of a several multi-agency outfits deployed in cities around the United States after the 9/11 attacks to make sure that clues and tips were shared among the relevant local, state, and federal agencies.

Officials told the Post, however, that there is no indication that the unidentified CBP officer shared the information about Tsarnaev’s return from Russia with any other members of the Boston task force, including the FBI agents who had interviewed Tamerlan in October 2011.

U.S. officials were quick to note, though, that the CBP officer in Boston may have mentioned Tsarnaev’s return from Russia to the FBI agents serving on the task force, but without creating a computer file to record the information had been shared.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr., speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, said that that he has seen no evidence that U.S. agencies dropped the ball. “The dots were connected,” he said. He also urged the public “not to hyperventilate for a while before we get all the facts.”

U.S. intelligence sources also pointed out this fact: it was the Russian security services who, in October 2011, requested that their American counterparts interrogate Tameraln to see how deeply he was involved with Chechen jihadists. The FBI interviewed Tameraln and checked with friends and relatives, and concluded that there was no evidence that he was a radical militant. The information was conveyed to the Russian authorities.

Tsarnaev left for Dagestan in Janu1ry 2012, and stayed there until July 2012. Officials of the Russian anti-terrorism panel in Dagestan said this week that Tameraln was not being followed during his 6-month visit, and that he had done nothing to attract notice.

McCain and Ayotte asked for a hearing on the issue, saying that “it has become increasingly apparent that more questions need to be answered regarding the failure to prevent this tragedy.”

“In a string of apparent intelligence-sharing lapses, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was able to slip through the cracks and carry out this devastating attack,” the senators said.

Lawmakers, after being briefed on the case Tuesday, said the U.S. government had “multiple contacts” with Russia about the older Boston bombing suspect.

FBI sources told Fox News that the FBI investigation of Tsarnaev proved inconclusive. “We did everything we could,” one FBI source said, and their assessment was based on the “totality of the evidence.”

There is also confusion as to how many times the Russian security services contacted the FBI. The agency says the Russians made only one request to have Tsarnaev investigated, but Representative Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Maryland), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that the United States made three inquiries with Russia about Tsarnaev and got no response.