Was The Boston Marathon Bombing An Intelligence Failure?

The Boston Bombing Intelligence Failure -- Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast

The question is not whether the feds missed something. They did. The questions are what, and where, and why?

For years a simple message has been posted, in one form or another, all over public transport in Boston: “See Something. Say Something … Instincts tell you to do something? Do something. Call this number …” One sees much the same slogan in New York, in Washington, or for that matter in Paris and London. Public vigilance is an important part of preventing terrorist attacks. And if bystanders on Boylston Street in Boston near the marathon finish line on Monday had seen a couple of stray backpacks, or someone dumping too-large packages into garbage cans, and said “something,” maybe—just maybe—three people would be alive today and more than a hundred could have been saved from injury.

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My Comment: While this was definitely a terrorist attack .... it is still too early to judge if this was an intelligence failure or not. A few questions will first need to be answered. Was this a "lone wolf" operation or something bigger? Is there an international component? What were the reasons for this attack? Could it have been prevented? Christopher Dickey lists a few good points in his posting that will need to be answered.