The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing did not seem to fit …

The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing did not seem to fit the pattern of terrorist attacks and raised the question as to why two brothers of Chechen origin would want to kill Americans.  Williams aims to answer the question with a survey of the history of Chechnya from its brutal Czarist conquest in the 19th century through the two Russian wars to prevent Chechen secession in the 1990s and during Putin’s presidency. In tracing this history, Williams emphasizes Chechnya’s use of terrorism in its conflict with Russia and the links between Chechens and al Qaeda as well as radical Islam. . . . Williams concludes that the bombing had nothing to do with Chechnya and everything to do with al Qaeda–inspired, anti-American Islamism. . . . Recommended.