It was absolutely awful and painful to see how 2 young immigrant brothers (Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev) from Chechnya managed to create and effectively deploy 2 pipe bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. This has caused absolute mayhem for about 5 days in one of most influential large American cities.
3 people were killed and over 180 were injured. Only by a miracle there were just 3 deaths, given the middle-of-the-crowd placement of the home-made bombs.
The older brother was killed a few days after the attacks and the younger one was taken into custody, but not before being severely injured during apprehension.
Recent reports show that the older -Tamerlan - of the 2 brothers -who was 26- had
been interviewed by the FBI a few years ago with the suspicion that he
had been radicalized by Islamist groups from Russia. In spite of theses
fears, the FBI apparently did nothing after the initial investigation.
We cannot rule out that the FBI bears at least some -non zero- responsibility for these actions, given that the agency knew at least about the possibility that the older brother was a potential terrorist. The FBI cannot blame budget cuts as it has received all the money they have asked for during the last 11 years (since 2011). No question about that. If it is not about the budget then it must be about their competence (or lack of it).
The younger of the 2, who is 19 -Dzhokhar-, is a naturalized American citizen.
I have heard and read comments that he should not be read his Miranda rights and I believe that this would be a grave mistake.
When he became an American citizen 'he swore allegiance to the flag and the republic for which it stands'. Meanwhile, during the naturalization ceremony, the US has also granted him rights that are bestowed on all Americans, rights that are spelled out in the Bill of Rights. The social contract we share as Americans cannot be ignored willy-nilly by the government as they see fit.
The beauty of the balance of powers in our country is that the government cannot acquire more powers from the individuals without preserving the individuals ability to defend fairly against such actions.
Even in cases such as the Boston bombings, the US government should ensure first that they have done EVERYTHING THEY COULD to avoid similar tragedies BEFORE showing to us that they have the power and the will to restrict our freedoms. Otherwise we will have a government that will show that they can react very well after the fact but this might be too late for us to obtain personal and collective security.
After all, what is the point of the government if it cannot defend us before an attack that could have been foretold?
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