Clinton popularity surges after Iraq attack

[LORI SANTOS]

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- His approval ratings rising following the weekend
attack on Iraq, President Clinton asserted Monday he went forward with
his decision to bomb Saddam Hussein's intelligence center without regard
to political consequences.
Speaking at the start of a meeting of his Cabinet at which he also
pledged America was ready ``to do everything'' necessary to combat
terrorism in the United States, Clinton said, ``It's my job and I did
exactly what I said I'd do during the campaign when confronted by
circumstances like this.''
``The evidence was clear and we took the appropriate action,'' he
said. ``It was the right thing to do for the United States and I feel
quite comfortable with it.''
Press secretary Dee Dee Myers, while conceding she had no direct
knowledge of the decision to launch the attack Saturday, said no thought
was given to Clinton's popularity at home or standing abroad.
``It absolutely was not part of the calculation -- absolutely was not,
'' Myers told reporters. ``The president was presented with a series of
facts that made it very clear that this was a case of state-sponsored
terrorism against a former United States president and President Clinton
took very direct action in response to that. There were no other
considerations.''
While the administration clearly was buoyed by the successful raid on
the Iraqi intelligence center, Myers came under fire for saying last
Friday that Clinton had yet to receive a final report on the alleged
assassination plot against former President Bush when he traveled to
Kuwait in April.
Clinton already had signed off on the decision to dispatch 23 cruise
missiles to Baghdad when she made the statement.
The president's approval ratings, nonetheless, saw a quick upsurge
from the mid-40s where he has hovered in recent weeks, as Americans
registered support for the attack though three of the 1,000-pound
warhead missiles missed their targets and killed some civilians.
A Gallup poll conducted for CNN and USA Today showed those surveyed
supporting the action by nearly a 3-1 margin, and a new CBS-New York
Times poll was expected to show a similar leap.
The poll conducted for CNN and USA Today said 66 percent of 602
telephone interviewees approved of Clinton's actions to 23 percent who
disapproved. But 54 percent of those questioned Sunday afternoon also
said they believed the military strike would result in more terrorist
activity against the United States.
Clinton addressed that question, telling reporters the U.S. attack on
Iraq would signal other terrorist organizations or sponsor states that
such actions will invite retaliation.
``I think other terrorists around the world need to know that the
United States will do what we can to combat terrorism,'' he said.
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'' 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 echoed by Lawrence Eagleburger, secretary of
state in the final months of the Bush administration, who said Americans
should realize 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.
Before stressing that he wanted to return to his domestic agenda,
where tough battles loom over his budget, as well as his upcoming trip
to the economic summit in Tokyo where he will meet with the leaders of
the other six leading industrial nations, Clinton said the attack had
virtually wiped out Saddam's intelligence network.
``We did in fact cripple the Iraqi intelligence capacity, which was
the intent of the action,'' he said.
But he twice stressed that in making the decision, whether or not he
might benefit politically -- either at home or abroad -- was not a
consideration.
``I have no idea,'' he replied to a question of whether it might
impact his presidency. ``I did my job. It was my job and I did it the
best I could.''
Later, in a letter dispatched to Capitol Hill to report on the
operation, Clinton said he had approved the attack because ``the
government of Iraq acted unlawfully in attempting to carry out Saddam
Hussein's threats'' against Bush.
``Based on the government of Iraq's pattern of disregard for
international law, I concluded that there was no reasonable prospect
that new diplomatic initiatives or economic measures could influence the
current government of Iraq to cease planning future attacks against the
United States,'' Clinton wrote.
In addition, he pledged that if there are further incidents in the
future, ``I will direct such additional measures...to protect United
States citizens.