Clinton says bin Laden linked to alleged millennium bomb plot

bin Laden

May 18, 2000
Web posted at: 8:35 a.m. EDT (1235 GMT)

NEW LONDON, Connecticut (CNN) -- In his most extensive public comments on the subject, President Clinton on Wednesday said an alleged New Year's Eve bomb plot was linked to accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Clinton said that, without the assistance of other countries, including Jordan and Canada, "we'd have had bombs going off here as we celebrated the millennium."

While this was the first time Clinton has spoken about bin Laden's ties to the alleged plot, members of his administration have accused bin Laden's group of participating in a terror plot that unraveled at the end of last year, and those accusations have been widely reported.

Clinton used the alleged conspiracy to call for a $300 million increase in funding for counterterrorism programs.

The president spoke before the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's 119th commencement ceremonies. "Last December, working with Jordan, we shut down a plot to place large bombs at locations where Americans might gather New Year's Eve," Clinton said. "We learned this plot was linked to terrorist camps in Afghanistan, and the organization created by Osama bin Laden."

The counterterrorism plan would expand on activities already under way drawn from lessons learned in the millennium efforts. The president's fiscal year 2001 budget already allocates $9 billion for counterterrorism, 40 percent more than three years ago.

The $300 million proposed to Congress on Wednesday would be in addition to that. It would include $89 million for the Justice Department and $87 million for the Treasury Department to supplement their staffs with new personnel, increase joint operations, and invest in new equipment and infrastructure.

The initiative also calls for improved monitoring along the Canadian border, using secure communications equipment and high-resolution day- and night-monitoring cameras.

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