Obama on Times Square Attack: "We Will not be Terrorized"
President Obama said Tuesday that Americans "will not cower in fear" in response to the attempted terror attack in Times Square, calling the incident "another sobering reminder of the times in which we live."
"We know the aim of those who try to carry out these attacks is to force us to live in fear," he said. "And thereby amplifying the effect of their attacks, even those that fail. But as Americans, and as a nation, we will not be terrorized. We will not cower in fear, we will not be intimidated. We will be vigilant, we will work together, and we will protect and defend the country we love to ensure a safe and prosperous future for our people."
Mr. Obama, at the start of remarks to the Business Council, said Americans "can be assured that the FBI and their partners in this process have all the tools and experience they need to learn everything we can."
"That includes what if any connection this individual has to terrorist groups," he said. "And it includes collecting critical intelligence as we work to disrupt any future attacks."
The president said the suspect in the case, Faisal Shahzad, is now being questioned and vowed that "justice will be done." He said his national security team "will continue to do everything in our power to protect the American people."
"Around the world and here at home, there are those who would attack our citizens and who would slaughter innocent men, women and children in pursuit of their murderous agenda," he said. "They will stop at nothing to kill and disrupt our way of life, but once again an attempted attack has been - [it has] failed."
"It has failed because ordinary citizens were vigilant, and reported suspicious activities to the authorities," continued Mr. Obama. "It failed because these authorities, local, state and federal, acted quickly and did what they were trained to do."
The president noted that he had personally thanked citizens and law enforcement officials involved in the effort and said the suspect was caught "because of close and effective coordination at every level, including our joint terrorism task force and U.S. Customs and Border protection."
He added that in their response to the attempted attack, "New Yorkers have reminded us once again of how to live with their heads held high."
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