Obama Calls Boston Bombing ‘Terrorism,’ But Confirms: ‘The American People Refuse To Be Terrorized’
President Obama spoke briefly Tuesday morning and officially characterized yesterday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon as “terrorism,” before reaffirming that “the American people refuse to be terrorized.”
“This was a heinous and cowardly act,” Obama said, “and given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism. Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror.”
Obama—and law enforcement officials—stopped short yesterday of using what’s now being called the “T word,” though a White House statement later used the term unequivocally.
“What we don’t yet know,” Obama added, “is who carried out this attack or why, whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual.”
Obama met with FBI Director Bob Mueller, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and counter terrorism advisor Lisa Monaco before speaking, and pledged to “mobilize and deploy all law enforcement” in locating and apprehending any suspects.
The President also praised the “heroism, kindness, generosity, and love” of Bostonians, from the “exhausted runners who kept running to hospitals to give blood,” to the medical students who rushed to hospitals upon hearing the news.
“If you want to know who we are,” Obama said, “what America is, how we respond to evil, that’s it: selflessly, compassionately, unafraid.”
Obama reminded the public to be vigilant in watching for suspicious activities. “This is a good time for all of us to remember that we all have a part to play in alerting authorities,” the president said. “If you see something suspicious, speak up.”
In the last minute of the address, the President sounded eager to delineate how little was known beyond the basic facts of the bombing. “What I’ve indicated to you is what we know now,” Obama said. “Everything else at this point is speculation.”
Watch the whole thing, Obama’s uncharacteristically stylish necktie included, here:
