World

'Threat' Ends Greece Visit

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 19, 1999 / 8:41 AM EST / CBS

Throughout this trip, the Secret Service had been picking up threats against American targets, reports CBS News Senior White House Correspondent John Roberts. Until Saturday night, none had been against the President's plane.

Shortly after Air Force One took off from Athens airport, the secret service passed up the chain what was described as a "repeated threat" against the aircraft. It is believed that the threat was made by telephone, and was identified as part of routine intelligence gathering. As a precautionary measure, passengers were asked to check their carry-on luggage for anything unusual. The search included the equipment of CBS News cameraman Paul Douglas and audio technician Andy Stevenson.

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Air Force One on the tarmac before leaving Athens

Also, the departure of the second 747, an identical aircraft to the President's dubbed "Support One," was delayed while carry-on luggage was "swept" by the Secret Service. Both searches turned up nothing unusual.

And the Secret Service, which receives hundreds of threats against the President every year stresses that its confidence level "never diminished." It is, however, the first time anyone can remember that a security check was necessary after the plane was already in the air.

It was the final act in what had been a massive headache for the president's security team.

As cleanup crews worked overtime to repair the damage from Friday night's chaotic demonstrations in Athens, Mr. Clinton was visiting the ruins of another century. With daughter Chelsea in tow, he toured the Acropolis and reflected on the worst violence to accompany a presidential visit since he took the oath of office in 1993.

Standing on the Parthenon, Mr. Clinton told reporters, "Well, I'm sorry it happened."

Many Greeks are angered over the president's handling of the Kosovo crisis -- but the roots of Anti-American sentiment go far deeper than that. In an earlier meeting with business leaders in Athens, the president admitted the United States was wrong to back the military junta which took control in Greece in 1967 - an action at the core of festering anti-U.S. sentiments that erupted anew in violent protests during his visit.

"When the junta took over in 1967 here, the United States allowed its interests in prosecuting the Cold War to prevail over its interest, I should say its obligation, to support democracy, which was, after all, the cause for which we fought the Cold War," Mr. Clinton said. "It is important that we acknowledge that."

With onl 13 months left in his presidency, Mr. Clinton is in a race against time to mold his foreign policy legacy. Before he leaves office, he hopes to set the future course for the Middle East and Northern Ireland, and finally bring peace and stability to Greece, a task his closest advisors say has been one of the president's biggest frustrations.

One of the central objectives of the trip to Europe, which began Sunday in Turkey, is to push for reconciliation between Greece and Turkey, which have many strong disputes, including resource claims in the Aegean and control of the island of Cyprus.

Clinton indicated he didn't think Turkey was likely to win access to the European Union unless it settled its dispute with Greece over governance of the island of Cyprus.

"These two countries need to go hand in hand into the future, and the festering disputes need to be resolved in order for that to happen," he said.