REPORT:
. Saudi intelligence source separate from Russia also warned the U.S. about one of the accused Boston bombers
. Letter to the Department of Homeland Security allegedly indicated that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and three Pakistanis were potential jihadis worthy of U.S. investigation
. Red flags from Saudi Arabia included Tsarnaev's name and information about a planned explosive attack on a major U.S. city
There is now a report that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent a warning about accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2012 “in writing.” This would have been long before pressure-cooker bombs were planted at the Boston Marothon on April 15, 2013, which killed three and injured hundreds (“EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia 'warned the United States IN WRITING about Boston Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012” by David Martosko and American Media Institute, 4/30/13 [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317493/Saudi-official-Kingdom-warned-United-States-IN-WRITING-Boston-Bomber-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-2012-rejected-application-entry-visa-visit-Mecca-2011.html#ixzz2S3dAqVaE] [ @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook])..
According to a senior Saudi government official with direct knowledge of the document, the written warning from the Saudis was based on human intelligence developed independently in Yemen, and it was separate and distinct from the multiple red flags raised by Russian intelligence in 2011.
Also of significant interest is a report that the Saudi government also denied an entry visa to the elder Tsarnaev brother in December 2011, citing security concerns. According to that report, Tamerlan Tsarnaev had hoped to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. The elder Tsarnaev's plans to visit Saudi Arabia and denial of entry for security reasons had not been previously disclosed.
In a separate development, three additional suspects have been taken into custody in the investigation of the April 15 bombing attack at the Boston Marathon. The three are students who are being charged with making false statements to investigators and obstructing justice (“Three More Suspects Arrested in Boston Bombing Case” at Newsmax Independent American, 5/1/13
[http://www.newsmax.com/#ixzz2S3jEl0h8]).
According to CNN these students are reported to include foreign nationals; and their "obstruction" included attempts at disposing of evidence connected to the bombing.
UPDATE: The Department of Homeland Security denies that Saudi Arabia issued a warning about Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and releases a statement Wednesday denying the Daily Mail report that cited an unnamed, "senior Saudi government official" that Saudis sent a written warning about Tsarnaev and a possible explosive attack in "a major U.S. city" (See “Homeland Security Denies Saudi Arabia Warned U.S. About Boston Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev In 2012”
ReplyDeleteby Andy Campbell, 5/1/13, Huffington Post [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/ did-saudi-arabia-warn-us-about-boston-bombers_n_3193317.html?utm_hp_ref=crime]).
The Huff-Post report contained two items from the Obama Administration that specifically denied the claims that appeared in the Daily Mail: 1) a White House spokesperson, Caitlin Hayden, of the President's National Security Council, denied that any U.S. government agency received any correspondence from Saudi Arabian officials, as follows: "We and other relevant U.S. government agencies have no record of such a letter being received"; and 2) a Department of Homeland Security email stated that: "DHS has no knowledge of any communication from the Saudi government regarding information on the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing prior to the attack."
UPDATE: Wednesday afternoon, three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev and Robel Phillipos — were charged in Federal Court with obstruction charges for removing a backpack and fireworks from his dorm room and/or lying about it to federal investigators ( See “3 pals of Boston Marathon bombing suspect charged with coverup” by By Pete Williams, Richard Esposito, Michael Isikoff and Tracy Connor, 5/1/13, NBC News [http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/01/18001437-3-pals-of-boston-marathon-bombing-suspect-charged-with-coverup?lite]). A spokesperson for federal authorities says that Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice, and Robel Phillipos was charged with making false statements. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev are from Kazakhstan and had been in custody for more than a week in connection with possible immigration violations.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: More details on the Saudi Arabian letter to a U.S. security agency are emerging; and there is more confirmation that the 2012 “letter” exists somewhere in the Department Homeland Security (See “Saudi Arabia warned U.S., U.K. in writing about Boston Marathon bomber in 2012” by Catholic Online (News Consortium), 5/1/13 [http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=50747]).
ReplyDeleteAccording to the report, “.... It's theorized that the letter most likely came to DHS via the Saudi Ministry of Interior, the agency tasked with protecting the Saudi kingdom's homeland. *** A Homeland Security official did confirm on the condition of anonymity that the 2012 letter exists....”
For its part, the Daily Mail did and extensive “update” of the article cited in the post above and that “update” contains all of the material mentioned in the Catholic Online report mentioned above in this comment, together with specific denials from the Saudi Arabian Ambassador – “.... The Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C. today denied its government warned the U.S. about accused Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev....” (See “Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington now DENIES his nation warned the United States about Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012 — . Saudi embassy in Washington D.C. issues denial of account of a senior official who talked to MailOnline...” David Martosko and American Media Institute, update 5/1/13,
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317493/Saudi-Arabian-ambassador-Washington-DENIES-nation-warned-United-States-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-2012.html#ixzz2S9PQOWyw] [@MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook]). This report contains many details that did not appear in the earlier report of the Daily Mail cited in the post above.