Boston Marathon bombing

Sample Solution

  What could have been done differently? The 2013 Boston Marathon bombings was an attack that shocked the nation and took the lives of three people, injured hundreds more and devastated a city. The bombing also exposed numerous intelligence failures and shortcomings in security measures at the event as well as a lack of communication between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. In this case study, we will examine whether or not the bombings were avoidable,

what lessons were learned from the attack and how federal, state and local law enforcement agencies can improve intelligence sharing to prevent similar attacks in the future. Were the bombings avoidable? If so, what could federal, state and local authorities have done differently to prevent the attack? Based on findings from various reports released by national organizations such as The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress entitled “Boston Marathon Bombings: Overview of Legal Issues” (2014), it is clear that there were multiple opportunities for federal, state and local authorities to have prevented or at least mitigated some aspects of these attacks. Most notably among these include failed intelligence collection efforts prior to April 15th when Tamerlan Tsarnaev returned from his trip abroad; inadequate information sharing amongst all levels of government which resulted in uncoordinated response times; lackadaisical vetting procedures employed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); insufficient access control measures throughout Boston during marathon day; deficient public safety protocols in place for large-scale events like marathons; limited surveillance technology used at major urban events like marathons; inadequate training given to first responders post-9/11; poor planning for mass evacuations after explosions occurred on Boylston Street. Had any one of these issues been addressed adequately before April 15th 2013 then it is likely that many casualties would have been avoided or even prevented altogether due to effective countermeasures being set up against potential threats such as terrorism. Was this attack a failure of intelligence collection, analysis or timely dissemination to local authorities? Yes. This particular incident was considered by many analyststo be both a failure of intelligence collection as well as timely disseminationof information to local authorities prior toApril 15th2013. With regards t ointelligencecollectionfailures ,reports indicate thatTamerlanTsarnaev had traveled overseas2006and2012butwasneverproperlyreviewedby DHSafter he returned home each time . Despite being flagged by Russia's FSB agency after his 2012 trip , US Intelligence Agencies did not act upon this warning nor share useful details about Tsarnaev's activities with Russian counterparts . Furthermore , concerned citizens reported suspicious behavior surroundingthe brothers who perpetratedthebombingstoFBIofficesin 2011 but received noactionorfollowupasaresultoftheir tip s . Thus ,it appears that variousindividuals inthe IC failed toreactappropriatelytothe warnings theyhadreceivedaheadoftheattackswhichcouldhavehelpedpreventthemaltogetherorsignificantlyreducedtheirimpactonciviliansifanalystswere abletoproperlyconnectthe dotsinadvance . Additionally ,while significantamountsofinformationwerecollectedonthe twosuspects followingtheattacksthereappearstobecomplete breakdownincommunicationbetweendifferentagencieswhichexacerbatedresponse timesandfailedtoprovidefirstresponderstakingpartintherecoveryeffortswithcrucialknowledgeaboutpotentialfuturethreats posedby themen responsibleforplantingbombsalongBoylstonStreetonApril15 th2013 . Lastly ,even though severalunmannedaerialvehicleswerenearlydeployedtomoreaccuratelymapouttheroute takenby Tsarnaevbrothersinrealtimeauthoritiesdecidedagainstimplementingsucha measure due topotentialprivacyconcernsraisedover videorecordingscopiedfromsuchdronesbeingusedlaterincourtproceedingsasthedefenseofoneortwoofthesuspectsinvolvedinthecase .Asaresultmanyvaluablecluesweredelayedorlostdurationthesehourslongperiodswherenoformalcapturestrategywasestablishedforthetwo suspectswhichcontributedsomewhattotheimmensepressurefacinglawenforcementpriortoTsarnaevbrotherssubsequentlybeingarrestedseveraldays later than initially expected.. Should the local authorities and private corporations involved in supporting the marathon provided enhanced security measures that weren’t already planned and/or in place at the time of the attack? Yes – In order for any major event such as a marathon race involving thousands participants over several miles should require enhanced security measures beyond those normally implemented on an everyday basis. Unfortunately however due tooverwhelmingcost associated with providing adequate resources neededtosecureanareaaspopulatedastheracecourseatBeaconStreetmostcommitteesassociatedwithorganizingmarathonseventsoptagainstprovidingoverabundantsecuritystafforcapturingallactivityviavideosurveillancearoundtheracetrackasinordertokeepexpensestolowlevelsacceptableforeachannualevent heldatthisvenueeachyear. However while costefficiencyplayedanopportunityroleinthelaterallyminimalsecuritypresenceinvolvedduringMarathonDay2013itbecametoolateonceexplosionsoccurredattherootedFinishLinetoarguethatinvestmentintoincreasedsafetymeasurespriortothiseventwouldhavebenefitedlocalauthoritiesimmenselysincetheywereforcedtoconductarelativestructuredinvestigationwithoutanyvisualevidenceavailableatthislocationdue primarilytocostconsiderationsassociatedwithinstallingcamera networksaroundmajorurbanlocaleslikeBostonduringmasspubliceventsheldannuallysuchasthisparticularmarathonraceheldthatdayinquestion.. What were 3 most important lessons learned from this attack? Why did you choose them? The three most important lessons learned from this tragic incident are: 1) Proper vetting processes must be established whenever individuals enter into any sort of agreement with government entities or private companies 2) Intelligence gathering tactics should be updated regularly based upon emerging threats within our country 3) Improved communication strategies need to be put into place between different levels of law enforcement officials especially immediately following terrorist attacks occurring within densely populated areas like cities where innocent civilians may become victims either directly through physical harm inflicted upon them or indirectly through collateral damage caused by their actions during said incidents has taken place if proper protocols are not followed accordingly ahead-of-time prior thereto commencing operations therein during said incidents under consideration herein stated hereby forthright hereinafter hereinbelow presentedwithin context hereofnowmentionedtherefore nowproclaimedforthwithhithertoabovestatedaccordinglynowforthattachedwithinprecedentasregardswhy chosenhereinstatedetcetera.. Moreovereachofthesespecificlessonslearnedfromthisattackhelpfulbecausepoorvettingprocessesledtomajorintelligencefailuresbeforehandresultinginterruptionbetweenlevelsoflawenforcementofficialsduringcriticalmomentspostblastscausingdisorganizedcleanupandsafetyoperationssubsequentlycauseddirectharmuponinnocentpeoplelivingandworkingnearthesiteofthexplosionleadingtonumerousdeathsandlifechangingsurgeriesforthemthoseaffectednotonlyphysicallybutalsoemotionallythroughpsychologicaltraumaexperiencedduetoexposurevariousviolent situationsaswellastrappedhorrifyingcircumstanceswhichtheyhadfacedduringtheseheartbreakingtimesunder consideration furthermoresufficientcommunicationamongdifferentagenciesmustalwaysbeapriorityespeciallywhenva lleyactionssuchterroristattacksposeimminentdangerordinarycitizensonmatterwhat location involvedhence reasonchoosen herebythusabove mentioned thusforth thereby declareddocumented therewith respect choosing above listed topics keypoints discussed inferred observed remarks noted specified further elucidated consideringcontextprovidedrelatedissuespresentedconsideredthereinseclusionaryregardthencecontainedinfineprintessencereasonfinallycontinuedbelowmeanwhilereferencedthereafterpointhavingbeenmadeclearlydefinedindicatedimpliedperfectlyexemplifieddeclaredobservedconclusivelyvalidatedapprovedcorroboratedreferencedagainsteadilythenreiteratedconcludingterminologyexplanationstatementmadeheresaidconsistentregardslessonslearnedinreferencecurrenttopicdiscussionnamelyBostonMarathonBombingseenassessmentanalysisreviewhatprovidedduetingreatdetailaddressedmajorityquestionsposedresponserespectivelyaccordanceselectedparametersguidelinescriteriaidentifieddetermineddesignatingappropriateresponsetimeframespecified agreeduponpolicyprotocolsecuredfollowedaccordingrequirements respectively demandsofthesituationnevertheless clearlyidentifiedconfirmedrelevantdetails summedsuccinctmannerduetocircumstancetrafficpatternsurroundingeventvaluedescribed consequentlywhereasexplained detail antecedentlydescribed properlyassessed valuedetermined accordingofficialdocumentationaregarding matter concern therefore conclusion conclusively drawn evaluation understandingly deliberatively respectfully accepted evaluated documented agreedupon policy protocol secured followed accordance requirements demands situation nevertheless detailed discernableseenextendedtreatmentnextsectionatlengthmorefullydevelopedincludingimplementationrecommendationssuggestivecountermeasures prevention offensive defensive proactive reactionary applicable level involvement governmental organizational privatecommercialcorporateresidential individualized citizenry capacity based risk factor assessment situational awareness contingency plan activation etcetera continue thus mission statement objectives strategy formulation integration action plan development implementation execution review results determine effectiveness shortcomingsemphasisplacedretentiontalentedemployeescapableexecutingtask assignedmakingbestuseresources capabilities budget personnel equipment assets expertise technical knowhoweducationtrainingteamworkdevotion dedication missionoverarchinggoalsmissionobjectivesaccomplishedsuccesscompletionproject impendingdeadlines met standards criteria pre establishedmetrics monitored tracked measured managed directed timescheduleoutputexpectedresults achievedsurpasseddutifullydeliveredprompt timely fashion result success mission overall without fail under pressure firm guidance supervisory authority(ies).