[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[July 27, 1996]
[Pages 1204-1206]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address and an Exchange With Reporters
July 27, 1996

Centennial Olympic Park Bombing

    The President. Good morning. The bombing at Centennial Olympic Park 
this morning was an evil act of terror. It was aimed at the innocent 
people who were participating in the Olympic games and in the spirit of 
the Olympics, an act of cowardice that stands in sharp contrast to the 
courage of the Olympic athletes.
    On behalf of all Americans, let me extend my condolences to the 
families of those who lost their lives and our prayers to those who were 
injured. I want to thank the brave security personnel who were on the 
scene. They saw the package; they alerted the bomb squad; they cleared 
the crowd. They prevented a much greater loss of life.
    I also want to compliment the medical personnel of all the 
hospitals, those who were operating the ambulances, they and the 
volunteers who were helping people who were down at the scene. Those of 
us who watched it throughout the night last night could not have been 
failed to be impressed by their courage, their competence, their real 
heroism under pressure.
    Last night I was awakened by Mr. Panetta shortly after the 
explosion, and I continued to receive reports and follow events until 
the press conference early this morning. Then this morning the Vice 
President and I spoke to the president of the International Olympic 
Committee, the president of the Atlanta committee for the games, the 
Governor of Georgia, the mayor of Atlanta, the Attorney General, and the 
Director of the FBI.
    I want to make clear our common determination. We will spare no 
effort to find out who was responsible for this murderous act. We will 
track them down. We will bring them to justice. We will see that they 
are punished. In the meanwhile, we are all agreed the games will go on. 
We will take every necessary step to protect the athletes and those who 
are attending the games.
    I know that the people who've worked so hard to put on these 
Olympics, the people of Atlanta, the thousands and thousands of 
volunteers, are more determined than ever to see them to a successful 
conclusion. Already we see the spirit at work this morning. The mayor

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spoke about the significant numbers of people in the streets in Atlanta. 
President Samaranch reported to me on the events that are already taking 
place and said there were large crowds of spectators at them and that 
the people were clearly determined to go forward and attend the games 
and follow them.
    Let me say finally that an act of vicious terror like this is 
clearly directed at the spirit of our own democracy. It seeks to rip 
also at the spirit of the Olympics. We are doing everything in our power 
to prevent these attacks. There's been an enormous effort made to 
establish security at the sites of all the events. At the park itself, 
the investigation will continue today and then there will be additional 
security measures taken there.
    But we must not let these attacks stop us from going forward. We 
cannot let terror win; that is not the American way. The Olympics will 
continue. The games will go on. The Olympic spirit will prevail. We must 
be firm in this; we cannot be intimidated by acts of terror.
    Thank you very much.
    Q. Mr. President, do you think this reflects on the United States in 
terms of its ability to protect the people?
    The President. Well, actually, I believe, first of all, that 
there's--everyone says, including all the people who have participated 
in Olympics for decades, that this is the best and most extensive 
security effort ever undertaken at all the events. I think they would 
all say that there was more concern about the Olympic park than any 
other place because it was thought that there had to be some place where 
the general public could congregate, people who did not have tickets to 
the games but were there in town, wanted to participate, wanted a place 
where they could go and swap the pins and do all the things that they 
can do. And they wanted to make some entertainment available to the 
public for free.
    Now, I would point out that even there, a place that was more open, 
someone spotted that suspicious package last night and alerted the bomb 
squad and helped to clear the area and dramatically minimized the loss 
that would otherwise have occurred. So they are looking now at what else 
can be done to secure that particular area when it can be reopened after 
the investigation has been completed.
    Q. Would you support the death penalty for whoever is found to have 
done this?
    The President. Well, I support the death penalty for terrorism that 
leads to murder; I always have. And we--if you look at what we did in 
the crime bill, you know that. I believe that people who deliberately 
kill each other--kill other people, excuse me--particularly under 
circumstances demonstrating this kind of cowardice and designed to 
intimidate and cower large numbers of others, deserve capital 
punishment. I certainly do.
    Q. Mr. President, can you definitively eliminate the possibility of 
any type of attack at the Olympic games?
    The President. I don't think anyone has ever been in a position to 
definitively eliminate an attack anywhere in America, you know, or 
anyplace in the world. But I can say this--I will say what I have said 
before: If you talk to anybody associated with these Olympics, they will 
tell you that the security effort is the most extensive ever made. And 
if you talk to anyone involved in American law enforcement where there 
are many different agencies at different levels of government, I think 
they will tell you this is by far the best coordinated effort that has 
ever been made.
    And let me say again, as much as I grieve that this incident 
occurred at all, I want to reiterate the fact that people on the spot 
there were alert enough to see this package, to call the bomb squad, to 
clear people out, and to save a lot of lives. As much as we grieve for 
the injuries that were there, I think that is important.
    So I would say that they have done as good a job as could be done, 
particularly at the events. They were always concerned about any open 
area, where you have so many people operating in an open area. And they 
are examining what can be done, what should be done there during this 
period when the criminal investigation is going on.
    Q. Mr. President, Chelsea has been at the Olympics all this past 
week. Speaking as a father, what is your own personal reaction to this? 
Would you not feel some sense of anger that more might have been done to 
prevent this tragedy, but what is your first personal reaction to this?
    The President. Well, my first personal reaction was--I thought about 
it last night, of course, because she was in the park quite often and 
visited the pin exchange place there. And I

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was--my first personal reaction was that I hope nobody else's children 
get hurt down there.
    But I would say to you that these people have done a very good job 
planning and bringing off this Olympics. And I don't think anyone 
believes that we live in a risk-free world. And I think it's important 
not to jump to any conclusions about who did or didn't do what here. 
We'll look into this, and we will find who's responsible.
    But on balance, I still would say to you I feel good about the 
efforts they have made there. They've worked very, very hard. And we 
just have to keep working. And they are examining, even as we speak--you 
know, the Vice President's been heavily involved in this. And we talked 
about it last night when he and I both were awakened, and then we had a 
visit and talked about it again this morning. They're examining even as 
we speak whether there is some way to increase the security at the 
centennial park and still make it a place where a larger number of 
people who cannot either obtain or could not afford tickets to the 
events themselves can come and go. Everyone always knew that was the 
most open and most vulnerable place.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Briefing Room at the 
White House, and the address was broadcast live on radio and television. 
In his remarks, he referred to Juan Antonio Samaranch, president, 
International Olympic Committee; William P. Payne, president, Atlanta 
Committee for the Olympic Games; Gov. Zell Miller of Georgia; and Mayor 
Bill Campbell of Atlanta, GA.