Clinton Opens Door to Wider Somalia Mission : Policy: Limited relief operation may not be enough, he says in edging away from Administration’s position.

President-elect Bill Clinton, edging away from the Bush Administration’s policy on Somalia, opened the door Tuesday to a broader American mission by saying that the United States might not want to withdraw its troops after a limited relief operation.

At a Capitol Hill news conference, Clinton said the task of U.S. forces is not--as Administration officials have said--simply to open supply lines but to erect “secure and maintainable” lines for food and other relief. And he said that it is an open question whether a U.N. peacekeeping mission alone will be sufficient to allow Somalis to start rebuilding their strife-torn country.

Clinton in outlining his thoughts about Somalia departed from his earlier statements that President Bush should be free to conduct the nation’s foreign policy without second-guessing while he is President. His remarks also provided perhaps the most detailed look yet at his activist view of foreign policy.

Clinton seemed doubtful that the United States could withdraw its ground forces from Somalia by mid-January, a goal that Bush has said may be attainable. While saying that he respects Bush’s desire to recall the troops by then, Clinton said: “We believe that this mission has merit and that an artificial timetable cannot be imposed on it.”

After supply lines are opened, “everybody knows it’s going to take longer than that to build some sort of political infrastructure in the country,” Clinton said in remarks that followed a half-day meeting with congressional Democrats. “I think the question is whether that can be done in a second stage with a multinational peacekeeping force, rather than a peacemaking and alleviation-of-suffering force. . . .

“I don’t think anybody knows the answer to that,” he said.

Turning to his larger vision of American foreign policy, Clinton said the end of a bipolar world dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union “has made it possible to peel a layer off human aggression and made it possible in some parts of the world for people to be starved, brutalized and killed with much greater abandon than would have been the case.”

He said he feels more strongly than ever that “only the United States can play the leadership role that we ought to be playing to try to stick up for the alleviation of human suffering, the continued march of democracy and human rights and the continued growth of market economics.”

Clinton recalled his campaign pledge to tend to domestic affairs, but he said that he never intended that such an emphasis should mean the kind of withdrawal from international concerns that would ultimately cause greater difficulties.

“The dividing line between foreign and domestic policy is increasingly blurred,” Clinton said. “I believe our Administration will be forced to spend a lot of time on foreign policy, whether we want to or not.”

He said the United States has a choice. The country can try aggressively to solve international problems, “at the same time focusing much, much more energy on rebuilding the American economy . . . or we can ignore it for a while, wait for it to explode.”

“Then the problems will swarm on us and I might have to spend all my time on foreign policy,” Clinton said.

Clinton also hinted that he at some point may depart from Bush’s hands-off view of Bosnia.

He said that he understands why Bush Administration officials do not want to commit ground forces in the Balkans.

“But there may be other things that can be done,” Clinton said, explaining that he is “quite concerned” about events in Bosnia. He cited “the increase in violence, the impending loss of life” and said that he plans to review his options as President.

At the same time, Clinton tried not to overemphasize his differences with Bush. “I think they’ve got a plan,” he said. “They hope it will work. I think we have to give them a chance to see if it will work.”

Clinton’s remarks on the need for an activist American role in the post-Cold War world seemed to contrast sharply with comments of Vice President-elect Al Gore, who cautioned at the news conference that the United States expedition to Somalia should not be interpreted as the beginning of a new view of such actions.

Citing recently published comments, Gore warned reporters against any tendency to speculate about “some grandiose doctrine that then creates pressure to use similar force in all kinds of other situations. And that need not be done in this case.”

But only moments after Gore spoke, Clinton expressed his view that the United States now has a special role in battling oppression and suffering in the world.

As he considers his policy toward Somalia, Clinton has been under pressure from black leaders to take a broad view of what the United States should do in the East African nation. At a meeting Tuesday morning, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) told Clinton that the United States needs to help Somalis rebuild their public works and their government.

The news conference came just before Clinton and Gore crossed Capitol Hill to spend 45 minutes at a get-acquainted tea with members of the U.S. Supreme Court. The visit was only the second of its kind; the first was by Ronald Reagan and George Bush in 1980.

Clinton and Gore arrived about half an hour late. A Clinton aide described the tea and a personal visit between Clinton and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist as informal and cordial. All current justices were present except Byron R. White, who was on a trip to New York. Also attending were retired Justices William J. Brennan and Lewis F. Powell.

Clinton remarked during the tea that he and Clarence Thomas had attended Yale Law School together and that Thomas had corresponded with him while head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

As Clinton was leaving, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy told him: “We’d like to tell you to come back any time, but that may not be easy. If things get too hectic, and you want a place that’s quiet, just come see us.”

Clinton’s two-day visit to Washington was wrapped up Tuesday evening with an appearance at a dinner of the Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of centrist Democrats who have promoted Clinton’s policy ideas and his presidential candidacy.