Vol. 77/No. 16      April 29, 2013

How much traction this particular incident will provide along these lines remains to be seen.

Three people were killed and at least 176 injured at the Boston Marathon when two homemade bombs exploded near the finish line.

Authorities from Boston to Washington, D.C., have called for stepped-up government use of surveillance cameras, cop informers and provocateurs in working-class areas.

“The FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism,” President Barack Obama said at a press conference April 16.

According to the April 16 New York Post, the explosives were placed in pressure cookers with “shards of metal, nails and ball bearings.”

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack and no arrest has been made. Many theories on a motive have been floated in the media, from the fact that it took place on Patriots’ Day to its proximity to the anniversaries of both the deadly 1993 U.S. government assault on the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

The press widely reported that FBI and local agents questioned an unnamed 20-year-old Saudi citizen at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital April 15, where he was under heavy guard while being treated for shrapnel injuries sustained during the blast.

Federal and state officers raided and searched his apartment in nearby Revere, Mass., carrying away bags of his belongings. The next day the cops said he was not a suspect, “but a victim” of the bombing.

The bombing also provided an opportunity for Boston and federal authorities to practice their plan of action for responding to crises – part of broader moves in cities around the country toward increasingly militarized operations to take on anticipated future “civil disorders.”

“Not since the Sept. 11 attacks has Boston witnessed such a show of martial power,” the Boston Globe wrote April 16. The paper reported that Boston police officers and “scores of rifle-wielding” SWAT teams, National Guardsmen and state troopers were patrolling subway stations, walking the platforms, standing at turnstiles and searching bags.

The Massachusetts Capitol was surrounded by state police, with cars parked on the sidewalks at all entrances, including two armored Humvees filled with SWAT teams. The Government Center area, which includes Boston City Hall and several federal and state office buildings, was hemmed in by metal barricades and cops armed with assault weapons.

Government authorities mobilized highly visible patrol units and searches at transit stops and government buildings in other cities across the country and around the world.

“Some of the security measures we are taking may be noticeable,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the media. “Others will not be. We have 1,000 members of the NYPD assigned to counter-terrorism duties, and they — along with the entire NYPD and the investments we have made in counter-terrorism infrastructure — are being fully mobilized to protect our city.”

The Wall Street Journal called for stepping up “pre-emptive surveillance” and the use of spies and “informants in communities that might produce killers.”

Republican Rep. Peter King of New York was one of a growing number of political figures calling for expanding the use of spy cameras on the streets of major cities. “Being out on the street is not an expectation of privacy,” he argued.

Following the bombing in Boston, British officials announced they were tightening measures for the April 17 funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in London and the April 21 London Marathon.

The Associated Press reported April 15 that workers were “inspecting some of the country’s 4.3 million CCTV cameras in high-traffic areas around London.”

It added that “police and counterterrorism officials are also aggressively monitoring potential suspects.”

Kevin Dwire from Boston contributed to this article.
 
 
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