http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/us/politics/obama-calls-marathon-bombings-an-act-of-terrorism.html?ref=politics&_r=0
In Obama’s second public newscast after the Boston Marathon, on Tuesday,
April 16, Obama describes the bombing as “an act of terrorism”. On Monday, he
didn’t use this phrase due to the lack of information and sensitivity of not
wanting to evoke the fear of terrorism. In the past, Obama has been noted for
not relaying information to the public very well. Three instances in which this
happened was the assault in Libya
killing four Americans (2012), failed plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines
jetliner(2009), and shooting rampage at Fort
Hood, Tex., in which
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 active and retired soldiers (2009). There is
some criticism that Obama didn’t declare the bombing in Boston as an act of terrorism quickly enough.
In his speech, Obama said that there is still no information on who was
responsible for the bombing or why they did it. His focus was on the quick
response of the emergency responders and the crowd in helping those who were
injured. He left the American people with these encouraging words, The American people refuse to be terrorized,
if you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil, that’s
it: selflessly, compassionately, unafraid.”
I think Obama wanted a good amount of time to declare this an act of
terrorism. I also think that he did a good job at making the American people
fell safe and that everything will work out the end. I am confident that we
will soon know who set the bombs off and for what purposes.
I agree with Sara that Obama did a good job on when he declared that the bomb was an "act of terrorism." I feel that if Obama said this too soon, the American people would have been panicking more than they already were. Obama could not have said it earlier because he did not have enough evidence to declare that it was an act of terrorism Overall, I feel terrible for the families affected by this and I hope they do find out who did it, because they need to be brought to justice.
ReplyDeleteThis absolutely was an act of terrorism. People hear the word "terrorism" and immediately think "Muslim/people like the ones that attacked us on 9/11" but this simply isn't true. Though we don't know who actually bombed the city, it is still an act of terror nonetheless. I wish that Obama, and all of the other presidents who "overlooked" other attacks, would tell the American public about them. An attack is an attack and I feel like the president should always acknowledge when something major, like the Ambassador's death in Libya, happens.
ReplyDeleteI believe Obama waited the appropriate amount of time to declare the Boston bombings an act of terrorism. He displayed good leadership skills gathering the information before making any assumptions. Obama has comforted the nation declaring that the people behind this bombing will feel the full weight of justice. Obama has learned from the past not to come out with statements before information is gathered like he did when the ambassadors were killed in Libya.
ReplyDeleteI believe Obama waited the appropriate amount of time to declare the Boston bombings an act of terrorism. He displayed good leadership skills gathering the information before making any assumptions. Obama has comforted the nation declaring that the people behind this bombing will feel the full weight of justice. Obama has learned from the past not to come out with statements before information is gathered like he did when the ambassadors were killed in Libya.
ReplyDeleteMy only question would be that if "any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror" couldn't Obama have officially identified it as an act of terror much sooner? I think it was obvious to everyone watching the news that it was a terrorist act, so I guess the official designation isn't really significant since it was as expected.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I liked that Obama waited enough time to get more information on what had truly happened. I support him calling this "an act of terrorism," because domestic or foreign, any bombing like this is terrorism, meant to instill fear and uncertainty. I think part of the reason why Obama was so careful with his word choice was because certain comments surrounding the unfortunate events in Libya were scrutinized.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Justin in that I believe Obama waited long enough to tell the American people that the Boston bombing was an act of terrorism. I think it was a good idea because it is better than declaring it an act of terrorism before the information was gathered and then having it end up not to be. Although I agree with Grace in that most people probably assumed that this was a terrorist act from watching the news, I don't necessarily believe that this could've been 100% determined without the necessary information.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Obama chose to wait this amount of time because he's learned from his previous experiences of waiting either too long or not long enough to release information about significant events both domestic and foreign. Still, I don't believe that everyone can ever be satisfied with one single thing that any president does, so I'm not surprised that some people felt Obama waited too long to declare that the Boston bombings were an "act of terrorism".
ReplyDeleteI believe that Obama chose to prolong the declaration of the Boston Marathon Bombing as an act of terrorism to avoid jumping to conclusions without enough evidence to verify that assumption. I think that amount of time he took to declare this as an act of terror was appropriate.
ReplyDeleteAs Talia and Katie have said, President Obama did not want to jump to conclusions and I believe that was the right thing to do. People did not know what to expect and false information is the last thing anyone needs.
DeleteI think Obama handled the situation well. He didn't want to jump to assumptions and he rallied the American people together in a time of tragedy. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that this situation was handled rationally and Obama avoided jumping to conclusions and inciting fear by waiting for all the facts to come in had he or his administration seemed not on the same page with this by coming out before they had all the information another situation like the Benghazi attacks could have been created
ReplyDeleteI think that Obama waited the right ammount of time to get more information before jumping to conclusions and calling something an act of terrorism. I think that he handled the situation very well and brought people together in a time of tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated Obama waiting an appropriate amount of time before jumping to conclusions. The focus had to be on getting people to safety and keeping the nation feeling secured. Then, he focused on his facts and phrasing of his speech.
ReplyDelete