(March 04, Washington, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Obama was asked by a journalist on 3 March for his response on the attack against the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan. Following is the transcript of the exchange.QUESTION: Can you just talk about the Pakistan terror attack today on the cricket team? You, in particular, Mr. President, have made it clear that you've got to see Afghanistan and Pakistan together. How do you think that the world community can support Pakistan?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, the details are still coming in, and so I don't want to be too specific. Obviously, we're deeply concerned. But let me just make a general statement. Both Great Britain and the United States share a deep interest in ensuring that neither Afghanistan, nor Pakistan are safe havens for terrorist activity.
And we have coordinated effectively in the past. But the truth is, is that the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated. The safe havens for al Qaeda remain in the frontier regions of Pakistan. And we are conducting currently a comprehensive review of our policies with respect to Afghanistan, with respect to Pakistan, our coordination with our NATO allies and other members of the international security forces that are there. I will be making a series of announcements prior to the NATO summit that immediately follows the G20 summit, in terms of the direction that the United States would like to go.
What I'm confident in is that our strongest partner in that effort once again will be the United Kingdom and the Prime Minister sitting next to me.
Acting State Department Deputy Spokesman Gordan Duguid also commented on the attacks during a press conference at the State Department on 3 March.
QUESTION: Yeah, there was the attack on visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore yesterday. Does the State Department know who were behind these attacks or do you have any comments on those attacks?
MR. DUGUID: We condemn this vicious attack on innocent civilians, but also on the positive relations that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are trying to enjoy. This is not just an attack on individuals; this is an attack on peaceful, normal relations. And we utterly condemn this terrorist attack.We send our condolences to the families of the victims, and we send our condolences to the injured and the wounded. The Pakistani police, I am given to understand, were extremely brave in protecting their charges and should be commended. -Sri Lanka Guardian
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