American Gladio (Part 02) - FBI Investigated Boston Bomber 2 Years Before Attack

The following article is Part 2 of the American Gladio series.

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Shortly after the Russian government revealed that it had warned the United States about Tamerlan Tsarnaev two years before the bombings, the FBI conceded limited details regarding its relationship with Tsarnaev before the attack. The FBI revealed that, in response to the letter from the FSB, on March 22nd 2011, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston initiated an Assessment to determine whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev posed a threat to national security.

In hindsight, there is little doubt this was the case but how did the agency fail to identify Tsarnaev's radicalism?

According to the unclassified summary of the Inspectors General Report, the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force checked U.S. government databases and other information to look for derogatory telephone communications, usage of online sites associated with the promotion of radical activity, associations with other persons of interest, travel history, and education history.

The CT Agent leading the assessment conducted physical stakeouts of Tsarnaev's property, frequently drove by the residence, and established contact with former college officials to obtain information. The FBI CT Agent eventually conducted in person interviews with the Tsarnaev family, including Tamerlan Tsarnaev himself. Details of these interactions are very limited, however, in 2017, the FBI released documents which shed further light on at least one of these interactions.

The documents show Tamerlan Tsarnaev was interviewed at his residence on Norfolk Street on April 22, 2011. Another individual was with Tamerlan Tsarnaev during his interview with the FBI, however the identity of this person remains unknown as it is redacted in the FBI document.

Of great interest however, is that during this interview Tsarnaev revealed that four men who identified themselves as FBI agents that had come looking for him before the April 22nd interview, apparently leaving the CT agent perplexed.

The document reads:

“The four men who identified themselves as FBI to (redacted) were all young, handsome men in suits. One of the men was very tan but no identification was provided. They didn’t provide business cards or contact numbers. None of the men had accents and (redacted) did not see what type of car they arrived or left in. The men wanted to ‘talk to Tamerlan’. The men said they would be back the next day but did not return. (Redacted) and Tsarnaev have not heard from them since."

If these men were with the FBI, why wasn't the CT Agent in charge of the Assessment into Tamerlan Tsarnaev aware of their communication (or attempted communications) with him? If these men were not FBI agents, then who where they?

The document provides raw notes from the April 22, 2011 Tsarnaev interview. These notes allow us to get some inference on what the line of questioning may have been.

The document reads: "Tsarnaev doesn't know why anyone would be looking for him. Tsarnaev doesn't know anyone who be upset with him. Tamerlan has never had any problems with Russians in the US due to his Chechen heritage. Wars are fought between leaders of countries and not individual citizens. Putin and Medvedev are the problem not the Russian people. Tamerlan has had Russian friends in the US."

It goes on,"Tamerlan has been boxing since he was 12 years old with (Redacted). Tamerlan wants to box for the US Olympic team but does not have his citizenship yet [more on this later]. Tamerlan expressed an interest in the Spartan warrior culture. Tamerlan has not thought about joining the military because he wants to become a professional boxer. Tamerlan doesn't like to fight for the sake of violence. Tamerlan has fought to protect others. Tamerlan stood up for kids that were being bullied by others. Tamerlan never picked a fight. Tamerlan trains at several area gyms to include Wai Kru Boston. Tamerlan mostly trains in boxing but also does some jujitsu."

It does appear that the CT agent did attempt to solicit information from Tsarnaev regarding his religious beliefs and practices. The 2017 document goes on to say, “... Tamerlan has respect for all religions and feels that any religion makes your life better... Tamerlan goes to mosque in Cambridge once a week for Friday prayers. Tamerlan doesn't have many Muslim friends. There are 3-4 guys at the mosque that Tamerlan knows from high school. Tamerlan doesn't know any of the other worshippers. Tamerlan doesn't think there could be any Islamic radicals in Cambridge. Tamerlan goes on the internet to read the news and current events. Tamerlan doesn't search for anything related to extremist Islamic material. Tamerlan is aware that these web sites exist but he doesn't look at them."

The CT agent would go on to discuss some aspects of Tsarnaev's travel plans during the interview. The document states, "Tamerlan has not traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj because of the cost of the trip. Tamerlan and (redacted) want to make the trip in the future."

The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General’s report on the 2013 Boston Bombings determined that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s counterterrorism agent conducting the assessment of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, did not attempt to solicit information from Tamerlan Tsarnaev regarding possible sympathies for the ongoing insurgency in Chechnya and Dagestan against the Russian government or Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s future travel plans to the region.

Why would this not have been part of the assessment as it was the primary concern of the original Russian communication in March 2011 to the FBI? Interestingly, the explanation provided by the CT Agent to the DOJ IOG about why he did not ask about plans to travel to Russia is redacted.

While much remains unknown about the agency's interactions and relationship with Tsarnaev, the FBI claims it did not find any evidence of terrorist activity and the Boston JTTF contends it officially closed their assessment on June 24, 2011.

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However, just months later, in September 2011, the FSB sent an additional warning to the CIA.

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