DATE=5/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON / TERROR (L)
NUMBER=2-262483
BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE
DATELINE=NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton is seeking an additional
300-million dollars to fight global terrorism. Mr.
Clinton made the announcement Wednesday in a
commencement address at the U-S Coast Guard Academy,
where he discussed new threats to U-S national
security in the 21st century. Correspondent Deborah
Tate reports from New London, Connecticut.
Text: Mr. Clinton's increased funding request brings
to nine-billion dollars the amount of money he is
seeking to combat terrorism -- a 40 percent increase
over three years ago.
In appealing to Congress to pass the funding, the
president spoke of potential threats to Americans in
recent months -- including a bomb plot uncovered with
the help of Jordanian officials late last year.
/// Clinton Act ///
Last December, working with Jordan, we shut down
a plot to place large bombs at locations where
Americans might gather on New Year's eve. We
learned this plot was linked to terrorist camps
in Afghanistan and the organization created by
Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for the
1998 bombings of our embassies in Tanzania and
Kenya which cost the lives of Americans and
hundreds of Africans.
/// End Act ///
Mr. Clinton said shortly thereafter a customs agent
discovered bomb materials -- which he said were
similar to those used by Osama bin Laden -- being
smuggled into the United States.
The comments were the president's most extensive to
date about the activities of the Saudi exile, who is
believed to be in Afghanistan and is among 17 people
charged in the embassy bombing cases.
But Mr. Clinton said terrorists who want to use bombs
are just one type of threat facing Americans in the
21st century.
Others include the use of the internet by terrorists,
and so-called "cybercrime." He warned that the
computer virus believed to have been unleashed earlier
this month by a student in the Philippines -- which
was spread by electronic mail and disabled computers
worldwide -- is just a sample of the new threats the
world faces in a technological age.
He also cautioned about the threat China could pose to
U-S national security if the United States does not
step up its engagement with the world's most populous
nation. As the House of Representatives prepares to
vote on permanent normal trade relations for China
next week, Mr. Clinton warned of the implications of
voting down the measure.
/// Clinton Act ///
If Congress votes no, it will strengthen the
hand, ironically, of the very people the
opponents of this agreement claim to fight. It
will strengthen the hand of the reactionary
elements in the military and state-owned
industries who want America for an opponent to
justify their control and adherence to old ways
and repression of personal freedom. I believe a
no vote invites a future of dangerous
confrontation and constant insecurity.
/// End Act ///
The vote is expected to be close, with some Democrats
reluctant to back freer trade with China, fearing it
will lead to a loss of American jobs and would reward
Beijing for its questionable human rights record and
its tensions with Taiwan.
Mr. Clinton also renewed his appeal to Congress to
pass his one-point-six-billion dollar aid package to
Colombia to fight drug trafficking, which the
president identified as another threat to national
security.
/// Rest Opt ///
He also argued that the global spread of diseases such
as AIDS and malaria have national security
implications, as does climate change, which he said
could disrupt crop patterns and disrupt food supplies.
He called on lawmakers to pass his initiatives aimed
at combating these problems.
After speaking, Mr. Clinton handed out baccalaureate
degrees and commissions as ensigns to more than 180
graduating Coast Guard cadets. Five of those
graduates are from other nations and were sworn in to
their countries' respective military services by their
ambassadors or defense attaches. The five are from
Russia, Bulgaria, Jordan, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. (signed)
NEB/DAT/JP
17-May-2000 14:32 PM EDT (17-May-2000 1832 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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