Obama: US Looking for Foreign Terror Ties In New York Bomb Attempt
Kent Klein | White House 04 May 2010
President Barack Obama says U.S. officials are trying to find out whether the suspect in Saturday's failed car bombing in New York City's Times Square has ties to international terrorist groups. The president was told about the suspect's arrest shortly after midnight.
Hours after 30-year-old Pakistan-born U.S. citizen Faisal Shahzad was pulled off a plane that was about to leave for Dubai, President Obama assured Americans about the U.S. government's response.
"Justice will be done, and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect the American people," mr. Obama said.
The president told a group of business leaders in Washington the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for ties between Shahzad and terror organizations.
"The American people 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, and that includes what, if any, connection this individual has to terrorist groups. And it includes collecting critical intelligence as we work to disrupt any future attacks," Mr. Obama said.
Shahzad is suspected of driving a bomb-laden vehicle into Times Square and parking it on a street near busy restaurants and Broadway theaters.
FBI agents and New York City police arrested him late Monday after he boarded a flight to Dubai..
Mr. Obama calls the incident another sobering reminder of the times in which we live.
"New Yorkers have reminded us once again of how to live with their heads held high. We know that the aim of those who try to carry out these attacks is to force us to live in fear, thereby amplifying the effects of their attacks, even those that fail. But as Americans, and as a nation, we will not be terrorized," the president said.
Law enforcement officials are investigating whether Shahzad was working alone or whether other people were involved in the bombing attempt.
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