President Obama late Monday afternoon declined to say exactly what motivated the suspect in the New York and New Jersey bombings over the weekend.
Instead, he said after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that one of the challenges of an open society is that people who are “disturbed in some fashion” can carry out attacks such as these.
In an earlier televised statement, Obama did not directly call the pressure-cooker bombings terrorist attacks. Instead, he referenced terrorism more generally, and encouraged people not to give into the terrorists’ goals of inspiring fear “in all of us.”
Late Monday, Obama also stressed that the U.S. has made “significant progress” to fight back against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria.
“We have seen steady progress as the Iraqi forces are getting more confident,” he said. Obama met with Abadi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
When it comes to the upcoming Iraqi-led offensive against the Islamic State to take back Mosul with U.S. military support, Obama acknowledged it would be “challenging.”
“We feel confident that we will be in a position to move forward fairly rapidly …,” he told reporters. “It will be a tough fight.”
Obama praised the “extraordinary work and coordination” between the FBI and law enforcement that resulted in the quick apprehension of Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man allegedly responsible for last weekend’s pressure-cooker bombings in New York and New Jersey.
“Outstanding” police and law enforcement work are responsible for the suspect’s quick arrest, he said.
Obama said he spoke with the injured officers and reported that they are in “good spirits.” The wounds they suffered in apprehending Rahami, who engaged in a shootout with the officers early Monday, are “just one more reminder” of what they put on the line to keep people safe, he said.
Prime Minister Abadi said retaking Mosul will be a “huge blow” to the Islamic State, but the group must be crushed on the ground in order to stop the dangerous ideology it spreads. He said those who commit crimes have to be punished, but “we have to follow the rule of law.”
