Black Comedy of Errors

First, the alert: Russia's internal security apparatus alerting the FBI to the suspect activities of one Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011. A follower of radical Islam, obviously an individual who required scrutiny and watchful diligence. Simple enough; add his name to a data base held by the U.S. Homeland Security Department.

The Treasury Enforcement Communications system is scrutinized at the border to screen those attempting entry to the U.S. who may not present as an admirer of America. Hidden agendas, you know....

The preliminary review that the FBI's Boston operation set up to search data bases for terror-related communications proceeded. To determine which online sites promoting radical activity the man used. Interviews with him and his family. In essence, giving the man a heads-up, and his family reason to really distrust the American security agencies.

Chechens know all about police activities; and they are never wrong to harbour suspicious of their intent.

Still, this is America, the land of the proud and the free. The country that celebrates equality, democracy, justice. Don't worry, be happy. Since nothing untoward was discovered; this isn't Russia, after all, or even Chechnya; the file was closed; FBI review concluded in September of 2011, three months following the Russian alert.

Three months later Russia contacts the CIA. Same concerns. This time Russian agents gave two possible birthdates for Tamerlan Tsarnaev and interesting variations on the spelling of his name. The CIA concluded that Tamerlan Tsarnaev should be listed in the Terrorist identification Datamart Environment, adding his name into the database, but spelled differently.

When he travelled to Russia in 2012, returning six months later there was a alert generated, shared with a border officer, a member of the FBI's Boston joint terrorism task force, but since the FBI's investigation had been closed due to lack of evidence, the alert whimpered and died. The airline's list of travellers handed to government agents for security screening used another name misspelling.

Details are often so confusingly vexing. Particularly when they have a habit of vanishing into the woodwork - or closed files; whatever. Which left Tamerlan free to pursue his interests. He succeeded in Boston with the help of his willing brother, but failed because Lady Luck got tired of supporting him and gave him up for dead. And spared New York another atrocity.