The CIA, the Justice Department and Homeland Security Department have launched a high-level internal review of whether intelligence was mishandled prior to the bombings of the Boston Marathon, officials said.
President Barack Obama told a White House news conference that the review would seek to answer whether “additional things could have been done” that “might have prevented” the twin bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 on April 15.
“We want to go back and we want to review every step that was taken,” Obama said. “We want to leave no stone unturned.”
“Based on what I’ve seen so far, the FBI performed its duties, the Department of Homeland Security did what it was supposed to be doing — but this is hard stuff.”
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, advised Congress in a memo that Charles McCullough III, chief inspector general for the 16 intelligence agencies, will coordinate the review.
“Director Clapper believes that every agency involved in collecting and sharing information prior to the attack took all the appropriate steps,” said his spokesman, Shawn Turner. “He also believes that it is prudent and appropriate for there to be an independent review of those steps to ensure that nothing was missed.”
Asked about one senator who recently said national security protections have deteriorated since he became president, Obama said, Sen. Lindsey Graham “is not right on this issue, although I’m sure he generated some headlines.”
Graham, the Republican South Carolina senator, quickly responded to the president’s comment. “With all due respect, Mr. President, Benghazi and Boston are compelling examples of how our national security systems have deteriorated on your watch.” He referred to the attack that killed three Americans at a U.S. diplomatic post in Libya last year, as well as the marathon bombing.
The FBI carried out a 90-day investigation and interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 after Russian authorities warned that he might have ties to extremist groups. The FBI cleared him at the time, but the CIA put Tsarnaev on a terrorism watch list before he traveled to Russia in January 2012.
The scope of the review is still being worked out, but officials expect that it will last about 90 days.
About the Author
