Members of armed Chechen groups who in August 1996 took part in fighting against federal forces in Grozny. (RIA Novosti)
Boston Bombings: A Chance For U.S.-Russia Cooperation -- Reuters
(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been tempted to tell U.S. President Barack Obama "I told you so" when U.S. officials blamed two ethnic Chechens for the Boston Marathon bombings.
He has long said the United States underestimates the security threat posed by Islamist militants in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, and has rejected criticism that Moscow's use of force in the region has been heavy-handed.
But the Kremlin leader has kept silent in public since Tamerlan Tsarnaev died after a shootout with police, and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, was captured after a manhunt in a Boston suburb. Both are ethnic Chechens who had been living in the United States.
Instead, he and Obama made positive statements about cooperation on counterterrorism in a phone conversation on Friday, suggesting both sides see an opportunity to improve strained relations between their countries.
Read more ....
My Comment: Putin through his spokesperson(s) is saying .... "I told you so" .... and is tying the Boston Marathon bombings to the rise of radical Islamic groups in the Caucasus AND in the Syrian rebel movement. But is the White House/politicians/media/public listening .... I doubt it. But I now do expect greater U.S. - Russian intelligence cooperation on this growing problem.
Update #1: Russia warned US of Chechen immigrants -- RT
Update #2: Obama thanks Putin for help in Boston -- The Cable/Foreign Policy
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