What We Know

The working hypothesis at this point has to be that what took place in Boston was an act of Jihadi terrorism.

The suspects are Chechens. Chechen independence is a longstanding issue and one does not have to be a Jihadist to be a Chechen separatist.

But Islamism’s roots have reached deep into the Chechen separatist movement.

That this act was carried out in Boston not Moscow suggests Chechen independence was not the primary cause of these suspects.

More than that — whether they are lone wolves or affiliated, who taught them bomb-making — remains to be revealed.

Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio have other insights.