Obama’s Manhattan Nuke Comment No Indication of Threat
By Mark Silva Mar 26, 2014 11:18 AM ET
President Barack Obamas passing remark about a threat of a nuclear explosion in New York wasnt meant as an indication of any real known threat, a White House spokeswoman said today.
The president was not discussing intelligence when he said, I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in an e-mailed response to a question.
Obamas comment came at the closing a multinational Nuclear Security Summit at The Hague yesterday. He was at a news conference, downplaying the power that Russia holds over his national security agenda in its annexation of Crimea, and trying to highlight the importance of the summit and its goal of monitoring and controlling nuclear weapons material so that they dont fall into the hands of terrorists.
Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, Obama said. I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan.
The remark caught the attention of Comedy Central, where late-night The Daily Show host Jon Stewart found fodder for a spoof of the traveling presidents warning.
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