Clinton Hints at Future Strikes in Anti-Terror Battle

President Clinton, widening the U.S. campaign against the terrorist network linked to Osama bin Laden, warned Saturday that Americans must be prepared for “a long battle” that he hinted might include more military strikes.

In his weekly radio address, Clinton said that while U.S. missiles appeared to have hit their targets in Thursday’s attacks on alleged terrorist operations in Afghanistan and Sudan, Americans “should have realistic expectations about what a single [military] action can do.”

The president’s remarks came as authorities in Washington tightened security amid fresh concerns about possible terrorist attacks in the capital. U.S. Park Police erected barricades around the Washington Monument and heightened their presence at several major public buildings in the city.

Clinton said America must launch an all-out effort against terrorism that could go on indefinitely, particularly in the face of new threats that have emerged since Thursday’s strikes were carried out. “Our efforts against terrorism cannot and will not end with this strike,” he said.

And White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry cautioned that “one attack is not the kind of sustained effort that the president has in mind when it comes to dealing with terrorism in this new world that we live in.” He said the United States also will have to use diplomatic pressure and intelligence-gathering.

Meanwhile, the president settled into his first day of real vacation on Martha’s Vineyard after leaving abruptly for Washington on Thursday when the United States launched its missile strikes. He flew back to this picturesque Massachusetts island late Friday after meetings with key advisors.

McCurry said that after the stresses of recent days, the president probably would pass up--at least for Saturday--the usual round of golf and party-going that has characterized his visits here in the past. But, McCurry added, “he’s definitely in the vacation mode.”

Clinton also formally announced in his radio address that he had ordered the Treasury Department to freeze any financial assets that Bin Laden, an exiled Saudi millionaire, and two lieutenants have on deposit in the U.S. and to prohibit Americans from doing business with the three.

The move is the first step in an effort by the administration to widen the U.S. campaign against what officials say is a terrorist network that was responsible for the bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa on Aug. 7. Thursday’s missile strikes were aimed at operations linked to Bin Laden.

There was no immediate indication of how successful the administration might be in its attempts to enlist the support of other countries in freezing Bin Laden’s financial assets worldwide. U.S. officials said they had put out some initial feelers but had so far had no response.

Warnings Issued to State, Local Governments

The stepped-up security in Washington was echoed at military installations and government buildings across the country. The FBI said Friday that it had sent warnings to state and local governments suggesting that they take extra measures to guard against terrorist activities.

Security guards toting machine guns were posted on the steps of the Pentagon, and additional Park Police were patrolling downtown Washington on Saturday to watch for suspicious activity and to monitor protests against the U.S. attacks.

“We have gone through this a number of times in the past, with the Iraqi war and the Oklahoma City bombing, but we have done a couple of different things this time. That is an indication we are taking this pretty seriously,” said Lt. Joseph Cox, Park Police shift commander.

The service erected concrete barriers, known as Jersey walls, around the Washington Monument, the 555-foot-tall marble obelisk that dominates the city’s skyline. The agency was planning to install the barriers as part of a renovation of the monument but decided to do so sooner because of the security alert in the aftermath of the U.S. missile attacks, according to supervisory park ranger Lee Werst.

Clinton insisted that despite the intensified security in the nation’s capital, “America will never give up the openness, the freedom and the tolerance that define us.” The “ultimate target of these terrorist attacks is our ideals,” he said, “and they must be defended at any cost.”

Senior U.S. officials conceded that the move to freeze Bin Laden’s assets is largely symbolic, at least initially, since the Saudi exile has had few financial dealings inside the United States. But they said it was a necessary “first step” before Washington can credibly ask allies to take similar steps.

On the ‘Financial Trail’ of Suspected Terrorists

Officials described the effort as part of a “multi-pronged” campaign against Bin Laden that may also include additional military strikes, along with diplomatic pressure and intelligence-gathering.

The officials also said the move was designed to crimp Bin Laden’s ability to finance terrorist operations against the United States not only by freezing his assets but by using the “financial trail” those assets might provide to identify members of his network and seek to blunt their financial power as well.

As for Thursday’s attacks, fresh satellite images reconfirmed that the missiles launched Thursday inflicted “moderate to severe” damage on each of the targeted sites in Afghanistan, McCurry said.

And officials said the pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, Sudan, which U.S. intelligence agencies claimed manufactured so-called precursor chemicals for the nerve gas VX, was completely destroyed--an assessment confirmed by Sudanese officials.

“This is not just America’s fight,” Clinton said in his radio address, which was taped Friday. “It’s a universal one, between those who want to build a world of peace . . . and those who would tear everything down.”

Times staff writer Ralph Vartabedian in Washington contributed to this report.