[mpyne]

I can't speak for GCHQ, but the Boston bombers were identified by signals intelligence. It was Russia's, but they were identified nonetheless and turned over to the FBI.

The FBI failed to properly follow-up with that lead, but that's not (itself) a failure of SIGINT.

Despite all that (and ironically), the Boston bombing was a scenario where we should expect the NSA to be unable to see early signs, since they are forbidden from tracking the communications of either of the Tsarnaev brothers since they were on U.S. soil. NSA would only have seen anything if they had reached out to a known foreigner, outside of the U.S., in the process of germinating their plot.

But even so, it may be that we have to "settle" for the existence of occasional homegrown extremism (America is no stranger to that either) while still foiling the external plots that can be foiled.

[gerardvanvooren]

And one week later a massive explosion in West, Texas killed a lot more people. Yet somehow we only talk about the Boston bombers.

It is a theater, but the NSA got way too far. And even the motto of "100% security" by Obama is complete nonsense. Because it didn't stop the massive explosion in West, Texas, nor the Boston bombings.

Their problem is a lack of logical thinking.

[mpyne]

> Their problem is a lack of logical thinking.

If you're trying to equate the psychological impact of things like 9/11 to the equivalent number of coal deaths or traffic accidents then I'm not sure the lack of logical thinking is limited to them.

Treating humans like they should be Vulcans is one of the most illogical things of all. People are not Vulcans, and any systematic policy that fails to take that into account is doomed to failure.

[gerardvanvooren]

> If you're trying to equate the psychological impact of things like 9/11 to the equivalent number of coal deaths or traffic accidents then I'm not sure the lack of logical thinking is limited to them.

The executive branch of US gov, also didn't do one bit to relax the minds of "us". Instead they waved the red (and the US-) flag quite a lot and they put oil on the flame of fear. That by itself is criminal enough. But they went further and further... We know the history.

[keithpeter]

Yes, I remember that. Good point. And of course the drip-drip of car accidents and alcohol use &c.

Wasn't it Shneier who said that it wasn't the things you read about in the paper (by definition rare and exotic) that you had to watch out for but the banal ordinary things?