JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack” – Washington Post
“In an unusual move, U.S. officials shared highly specific information about a terrorist plot with an adversary country”
“More than two weeks before terrorists staged a bloody attack in the suburbs of Moscow, the U.S. government told Russian officials that Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue, was a potential target, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The high degree of specificity … underscores Washington’s confidence that the Islamic State was preparing an attack that threatened large numbers of civilians, and it directly contradicts Moscow’s claims that the U.S. warnings were too general to help preempt the assault. The U.S. identification of the Crocus concert hall as a potential target … raises new questions about why Russian authorities failed to take stronger measures to protect the venue …. A branch of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack …. U.S. officials have publicly said the group, … Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, ‘bears sole responsibility,’ but … Putin has tried to pin the blame on Ukraine. The attack has further dented the image of strength and security that [Putin] seeks to convey and exposed fundamental weaknesses in the nation’s security apparatus … consumed by more than two years of war in Ukraine. Domestically, Putin’s operatives appear more concerned with silencing political dissent and opposition … than rooting out terrorist plots ….”