Remarks and an Informal Exchange With Reporters on the Crash of an American Jetliner in Lockerbie, Scotland

The President. I think you all know that I have been following quite closely the details of the Pan Am 103 tragedy. And now that we know definitely that it was a bomb, we're going to make every effort we can to find out who is guilty of this savage and tragic thing and bring them to justice.

I have to say, also, that we have—or the FAA is studying and making recommendations as to additional things we can do at airports to provide security for those who travel. And finally, the one and most important thing left to say is the sympathy that I know we all feel for those who lost loved ones in that tragedy. And I think we're all determined to do everything we can to see that we can put an end to that happening again.

Thank you all very much.

Q. What are you going to do—

The President. What?

Q.—to find out who did it?

The President. What we want to do is find out who did it and bring them to justice. You bet.

Q. How will you do that?

The President. What?

Q. How will you bring them to justice? What will you do?

The President. Well, that's going to depend on who and where the individual is and the justice in which someone would be charged with 278 murders.

Q. Do you believe that this is terrorism?

The President. I can't comment on that. It seems to savor of that, but we're going to have to have more details. And we're doing everything we can to find them and working in connection with other countries on that.

Happy New Year!