A Bipartisan Attack On Terrorism

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 29) -- President Bill Clinton met today with FBI director Louis J. Freeh, Attorney General Janet Reno and a bipartisan group of Senate and House leaders in an attempt to calm a nation jittery after the weekend Centennial Olympic Park bombing and the suspected downing of TWA Flight 800.

Seated next to House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Clinton stressd the the need for a united attempt to stop terror attacks.

"When we are attacked, whether it's from within or without, we come together, and that's what we're doing here," Clinton said.

"This unites all Americans," Gingrich said. (224K WAV sound)

The president is seeking expanded wiretapping authority for the FBI in cases of suspected terrorism, as well as the ability to place chemical tracers, known as "taggants," in ingredients used in explosives.

Against Clinton's wishes, both provisions were dropped from an anti-terrorism bill passed in April. Opposition to the expanded wiretap authority and chemical tags came from an unusual alliance of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats who felt that such measures would infringe upon personal liberties.

The Olympic bomb, which exploded in the Centennial Olympic Park in the early hours of Saturday morning, left two people dead and injured more than 100 others. The attack came little more than week after the TWA flight fell from the sky off Long Island.

In a pre-summit photo session, Clinton said, "The main thing is, we need to get the very best ideas we can to try to strengthen this country's hand against terrorism." (192K WAV sound)

A Bipartisan Attack On Terrorism

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