Boston Bombs Likely Built From Fireworks"Whether it be that or the explosion at West, Texas, I mean it harkened
back to days where you become the comforter in chief ... try to help
heal souls that are hurting," Bush said.
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Exclusive Interview President George W. Bush, Laura Bush |
When George W. Bush saw the news about Boston, his mind immediately turned to organized terrorism--and to his own presidency.With his presidential library opening Thursday at Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, the former president spoke with ABC News' Diane
Sawyer in an exclusive interview, detailing how he reacted to the bombs
in Boston and the days-long manhunt that followed. The attacks, he said,
reminded him of a time when it was his job to comfort the nation.
Bush's tenure in the White House was defined, in part, by that role,
which he took on after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon would launch the "Global War on
Terror" his administration prosecuted for nearly eight years. They would
also come to define how many Americans view terrorism.
Suspected Boston Bomber Receives All-Star Defense Team
When he first heard about the Boston attacks, Bush said, he worried about an organized, coordinated terrorist plot.
"I was deeply concerned that there might've been an organized plot,"
Bush said of the Boston attacks. "I don't know all the facts. I don't
think we all know all the facts. But I was deeply concerned that this
could've been, you know, another highly organized attack on the country.
And it still may be--again, I don't know all the facts."
Bush's presidency was also defined by the hunt for al Qaeda terrorists,
and he praised law enforcement authorities for their response to the
Boston attacks. After two bombs exploded at the Boston marathon last
week, police apprehended suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev Friday night.
"I do know that it's really hard to protect the homeland. I mean, those
who want to do harm only have to be right one time, and we have to be
right 100 percent of the time," Bush said. "I was extraordinarily
pleased with the response. The local authorities, state authorities, and
federal authorities did a really good job of finding at least the two
guys involved."