Bush Vows Punishment for ‘Cowardly’ Bombing : ‘We’re Not Helpless’ Against Terrorists, He Says, Declining to Be Specific About U.S. Retaliation

President-elect George Bush vowed today to firmly punish those responsible for the “cowardly” bombing of a Pan American jetliner.

When asked his response to the conclusion that a bomb caused the Dec. 21 crash, Bush pledged to “seek hard and punish firmly, decisively, those who did this if you can ever find them.”

Bush declined to say at a brief news conference at Chase Naval Air Station in Beeville, Tex., what action the United States might take. He said it would be imprudent for any official to say what might or might not be done.

Bush said that the United States is doing everything in its power to prevent terror attacks but that “when you’re dealing with something as cowardly as that, it is almost impossible to guarantee that there will never be another terrorist act.

“We’re not helpless,” he said. “But it’s a very difficult threat . . . a whole new menace to try to effect political change by cowardly terrorist action.”

Bush had been hunting near Beeville and made the comments before leaving to continue his Christmas vacation in Alabama.

Bush’s remarks recalled a vow by President Reagan, when he began his first term in 1981, that terrorists could expect swift and effective retribution from the United States.

Reagan, however, encountered difficulty in tracking down the shadowy perpetrators of guerrilla attacks on U.S. interests.

It was not until April, 1986, that his Administration traced a line of responsibility to its satisfaction.

Reagan then ordered alleged terrorist bases in Libya blasted by U.S. warplanes in revenge for a bombing of a West Berlin discotheque frequented by U.S. soldiers.

U.S. airlines stepped up security at British airports today as investigators tried to determine how a bomb got aboard Flight 103.

At Heathrow International Airport’s busy Terminal 3, used by both Pan Am and TWA, passengers had to put baggage through X-ray machines as part of the new security measures. The baggage was then sealed with tough plastic strips before check-in to prevent tampering.

Police patrolled the check-in areas of the two airlines, carrying machine guns issued to them in an anti-terrorist measure imposed in 1986.

Ground staff also quizzed passengers on whether they packed their own suitcases, whether their luggage contained anything that could be used as a weapon and whether anyone had asked them to carry items for them.

In France, police said security was stepped up at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris, with special measures aimed at U.S. carriers. They declined to elaborate.