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DATE=5/17/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CLINTON / TERROR (L) NUMBER=2-262483 BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE DATELINE=NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: President Clinton is seeking an additional 300-million dollars to fight global terrorism. Mr. Clinton made the announcement Wednesday in a commencement address at the U-S Coast Guard Academy, where he discussed new threats to U-S national security in the 21st century. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from New London, Connecticut. Text: Mr. Clinton's increased funding request brings to nine-billion dollars the amount of money he is seeking to combat terrorism -- a 40 percent increase over three years ago. In appealing to Congress to pass the funding, the president spoke of potential threats to Americans in recent months -- including a bomb plot uncovered with the help of Jordanian officials late last year. /// Clinton Act /// Last December, working with Jordan, we shut down a plot to place large bombs at locations where Americans might gather on New Year's eve. We learned this plot was linked to terrorist camps in Afghanistan and the organization created by Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for the 1998 bombings of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya which cost the lives of Americans and hundreds of Africans. /// End Act /// Mr. Clinton said shortly thereafter a customs agent discovered bomb materials -- which he said were similar to those used by Osama bin Laden -- being smuggled into the United States. The comments were the president's most extensive to date about the activities of the Saudi exile, who is believed to be in Afghanistan and is among 17 people charged in the embassy bombing cases. But Mr. Clinton said terrorists who want to use bombs are just one type of threat facing Americans in the 21st century. Others include the use of the internet by terrorists, and so-called "cybercrime." He warned that the computer virus believed to have been unleashed earlier this month by a student in the Philippines -- which was spread by electronic mail and disabled computers worldwide -- is just a sample of the new threats the world faces in a technological age. He also cautioned about the threat China could pose to U-S national security if the United States does not step up its engagement with the world's most populous nation. As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on permanent normal trade relations for China next week, Mr. Clinton warned of the implications of voting down the measure. /// Clinton Act /// If Congress votes no, it will strengthen the hand, ironically, of the very people the opponents of this agreement claim to fight. It will strengthen the hand of the reactionary elements in the military and state-owned industries who want America for an opponent to justify their control and adherence to old ways and repression of personal freedom. I believe a no vote invites a future of dangerous confrontation and constant insecurity. /// End Act /// The vote is expected to be close, with some Democrats reluctant to back freer trade with China, fearing it will lead to a loss of American jobs and would reward Beijing for its questionable human rights record and its tensions with Taiwan. Mr. Clinton also renewed his appeal to Congress to pass his one-point-six-billion dollar aid package to Colombia to fight drug trafficking, which the president identified as another threat to national security. /// Rest Opt /// He also argued that the global spread of diseases such as AIDS and malaria have national security implications, as does climate change, which he said could disrupt crop patterns and disrupt food supplies. He called on lawmakers to pass his initiatives aimed at combating these problems. After speaking, Mr. Clinton handed out baccalaureate degrees and commissions as ensigns to more than 180 graduating Coast Guard cadets. Five of those graduates are from other nations and were sworn in to their countries' respective military services by their ambassadors or defense attaches. The five are from Russia, Bulgaria, Jordan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. (signed) NEB/DAT/JP 17-May-2000 14:32 PM EDT (17-May-2000 1832 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .