White House Press Briefing, Monday, July 12, 2010

Mr. Gibbs: Good afternoon, all. Let me start with a quick statement. The President called Ugandan President Museveni this morning and expressed his sincere condolences for the loss of life and offered to provide any support or assistance that the Ugandan government requests. The leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to working together to combat terrorist organizations that threaten innocent civilians around the world.

Question:  Robert, on the bombings in Uganda, is the administration accepting the claim of responsibility from the Somali group Al Shabab?

Mr. Gibbs: Obviously, the FBI is involved in this investigation. All I will say about this group, Mark, is that obviously this is a group that has made threats to the Ugandan people, and to the Ugandan government based on its support of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. That is not to say that there’s been a definitive conclusion on who is responsible, but this is certainly a group that has threatened Uganda in the past.

And I will say this. I think there is no clearer signal about the hateful motives of terrorists than was sent yesterday. What they seek to destroy and who they seek to kill -- innocent people -- just as the continent of Africa, just as the country of South Africa, shows the world what it had built, I think speaks volumes to the hateful motives of those that history will judge as looking only to destroy and to kill, rather than to build.