Clinton claims Iraqi intelligence is crippled

[UPI]

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Declaring the weekend attack on Iraq ``was the
right thing to do for the United States,'' President Clinton said Monday
he had been told the missile barrage had crippled Saddam Hussein's
intelligence capacity.
Speaking at the start of a meeting of his Cabinet, Clinton also said
though the prospect of increased terrorist attacks, even within U.S.
borders, was ``always a potential problem,'' American officials were
prepared ``to do everything we possibly can to deal with it.''
``The action I took I thought was clearly warranted by the facts and
I think other terrorists around the world need to know that the United
States will do what we can to combat terrorism. As I said...it is
plainly what we ought to be doing,'' the president said.
Before stressing to his Cabinet secretaries that he wanted to return
to his domestic agenda, where tough battles loom over his budget and an
upcoming trip to the economic summit in Tokyo, Clinton said political
considerations had not occurred to him in making the decision to launch
23 cruise missiles at an intelligence center in Baghdad on Saturday.
``It's my job and I did exactly what I said I'd do during the
campaign when confronted by circumstances like this,'' he said. ``The
evidence was clear and we took the appropriate action. It was the right
thing to do for the United States and I feel quite comfortable with it.''
Clinton began the session stating that the attack in response to an
assassination plot against George Bush had been successful in virtually
wiping out Saddam's intelligence capabilities.
``This morning I received a report...confirming that we did in fact
cripple the Iraqi intelligence capacity, which was the intent of the
action,'' he said.
And in addressing the situation in New York in particular, where last
Thursday FBI agents and New York police raided a makeshift bomb factory
and arrested eight men on charges of plotting to set off bombs, Clinton
said ``the American people should be reassured'' that U.S. officials
would continue to thwart such efforts.
``The American people know enough about terrorism to know that it is
always a potential problem but we're going to be very aggressive in
dealing with it and we're going to do everything we possible can to deal
with it,'' he said.
Clinton's remarks were also echoed by Lawrence Eagleburger, secretary
of state in the final months of the Bush administration, who had much
experience dealing with Saddam and who said Americans should realize
that they also are at risk of terrorism, such as the World Trade Center
bombing and last week's incident.
``We have to understand there will continue to be attempts to bring
this home to the American people domestically,'' Eagleburger said on
CBS.
Clinton also spoke shortly after his vice president, Al Gore, renewed
the U.S. call on the Iraqi people to overthrow their dictator, something
the Bush administration frequently sounded after the end of the gulf
war.
``The suffering inside Iraq can come to an end when Saddam's regime
is replaced,'' Gore said in an interview with CNN.
The president was more forceful in claiming the operation a success
Monday, after expressing regret on Sunday that three of the 1,000 pound
warhead missiles missed their targets and slammed into residential areas
in Baghdad, killing some civilians.
But he maintained the terrorist bomb U.S. intelligence said was
targeted against Bush during a visit to Kuwait would have killed
hundreds of civilians as well and that he acted only after ``compelling
evidence'' showed Saddam plotted to assassinate Bush during the former
president's visit to Kuwait in April.