Since that gruesome day in 2001, the al Qaida terror network has been unable to launch a single major attack on high-value targets in the United States. But the twin bomb explosions that occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday rattled nerves around the country and were a reminder of America’s vulnerability.
The explosions, occurring on the Patriot’s Day holiday were shocking in their symbolism and force. Television footage showed an explosion off to the side as runners were nearing the finish line, with some toppling over from the impact. It was followed by a second explosion. The blasts killed three and hospitals treated 110 people, at least 17 of them in critical condition.
It was the worst bombing on US soil since security was tightened after the terrorist attacks on 11 September, 2001 and President Barack Obama promised to hunt down the culprits.
“Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice,” President Barack Obama vowed.
“We still do not know who did this or why, and people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts,” Obama said. “But make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this.”
The president declined to answer a question on whether the attacks were acts of terrorism.
A White House official, however, called the explosions an act of terror. “Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror,” the official told The Washington Post.
US investigators are trying to determine whether this is another 9/11 moment for America, planned and carried out by a foreign terrorist group or is it a homegrown act of violence.
“The explosions that occurred on the Boston Marathon course today are a reminder of our vulnerability. But they are also a reminder of how extraordinarily rare terrorism is in this country,” said the Chicago Tribune.
“What happened in Boston would hardly warrant news coverage in Iraq, which today saw 37 people die in at least 20 attacks across the country. It’s a shock to Americans because it’s so exceptional,” added the paper.
The news paper cited a 2011 report by the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response which found that the number of terrorist attacks on US soil actually declined after 9/11, averaging just 16 a year. Between 2002 and 2010, it found, there were only 25 deaths in such incidents.
Newsweek had earlier reported that after 9/11 the amount of money America spent on intelligence had risen by 250 percent, to $75 billion (and that’s the public number, which is a gross underestimate).
“That’s more than the rest of the world spends put together. Thirty-three new building complexes have been built for intelligence bureaucracies alone, occupying 17 million square feet — the equivalent of 22 US Capitols or three Pentagons,” said Newsweek.
The huge US spend and concentrated efforts have shown results. US intelligence agencies have been successful in foiling several bombing attempts. In 2010, Pakistani American Faisal Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison for driving a car containing an explosive into New York’s Times Square, and Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaeda and plotting in 2009 to attack New York subways.
The tragedy at the Boston Marathon on Monday was made crueler by the fact that the race was dedicated to the 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School who were gunned down by Adam Lanza in a shooting rampage.
“When we find out who did this, we may well find some fascination with the event — perhaps a foreign terrorist, or a sick American. Perhaps it was someone who spotted a terribly easy target. Or perhaps it was someone who saw a reflection of the human spirit and decided just to try to shatter it,” said The New Yorker.
The scale of Monday’s disaster could have been worse. Five unexploded devices were found, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people briefed on the investigation. The Boston marathon attracts about 25,000 runners and 500,000 spectators each year.
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