Updated: 11:13 a.m. ET
In the face of recent criticism about the federal response to the Boston bombings, President Obama on Tuesday lauded the "exemplary" response of law enforcement agents, and dismissed criticism as inaccurate headline-bait.
Mr. Obama, speaking to reporters at a White House press briefing on the 100th day of his second term, expressed his pride in Boston and its handling of the bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
"What we saw in Boston was state, local, federal officials, every agency, rallying around a city that had been attacked, identifying the perpetrators just hours after the scene had been examined," he said. "We now have one individual deceased one in custody. Charges have been brought."
Mr. Obama dismissed critiques from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has questioned the efficacy of an FBI probe into one of the suspected bombers prior to the attack, as "not right on this issue," though, he added, "I'm sure [Graham's comments] generated some headlines."
Mr. Obama insisted the federal response was "exemplary" and said "we should be very proud of their work as obviously we're proud of the people in Boston."
He also reiterated the notion that chemical weapons use in Syria would qualify as a "game changer" for his administration, but insisted that he needs more information before he can ramp up his administration's response.
"When I said the use of chemical weapons would be a game changer, that... was not a position that's unique to the United States and it shouldn't have been a surprise," he said. But, he said, "we don't know how [the chemical weapons] were used, when they were used, who used them, we don't have a chain of custody."
"If we end up rushing to judgment without hard effective evidence then we can find ourselves in a position here we can't mobilize the international community to support what we do."
In the face of recent criticism about the federal response to the Boston bombings, President Obama on Tuesday lauded the "exemplary" response of law enforcement agents, and dismissed criticism as inaccurate headline-bait.
Mr. Obama, speaking to reporters at a White House press briefing on the 100th day of his second term, expressed his pride in Boston and its handling of the bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
"What we saw in Boston was state, local, federal officials, every agency, rallying around a city that had been attacked, identifying the perpetrators just hours after the scene had been examined," he said. "We now have one individual deceased one in custody. Charges have been brought."
Mr. Obama dismissed critiques from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has questioned the efficacy of an FBI probe into one of the suspected bombers prior to the attack, as "not right on this issue," though, he added, "I'm sure [Graham's comments] generated some headlines."
Mr. Obama insisted the federal response was "exemplary" and said "we should be very proud of their work as obviously we're proud of the people in Boston."
He also reiterated the notion that chemical weapons use in Syria would qualify as a "game changer" for his administration, but insisted that he needs more information before he can ramp up his administration's response.
"When I said the use of chemical weapons would be a game changer, that... was not a position that's unique to the United States and it shouldn't have been a surprise," he said. But, he said, "we don't know how [the chemical weapons] were used, when they were used, who used them, we don't have a chain of custody."
"If we end up rushing to judgment without hard effective evidence then we can find ourselves in a position here we can't mobilize the international community to support what we do."