U.S. lawmakers on a fact-finding visit to Russia said on Sunday that they found no evidence of a glaring American intelligence misstep that enabled attackers to set off bombs at the Boston Marathon in April, killing three people and wounding 264.
But they said far closer counterterrorism cooperation is needed between the Cold War foes, now at odds over issues from Syria to President Vladimir Putin's treatment of opponents, to head off a shared threat from militant Islamists.
California Republican Dana Rohrabacher led five U.S. lawmakers on a weeklong visit to Russia, where they met Federal Security Service (FSB) officials and visited Beslan in the North Caucasus, the site of a deadly 2004 militant attack on a school.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CONGRESSMAN DANA ROHRABACHER, SAYING:
"Do we believe that the Boston marathon massacre could have been thwarted? And the answer is there is nothing specific that could've been done that we can point to that, had it been do
