U.S. Envoy Sought More Security

The State Department has set out 12 books for employees to sign their condolences to their fallen co-workers who were killed in the terrorist attack against the U.S. embassy in Nairobi. CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson and Allen Pizzey report.

Employees know the bodies are arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Thursday morning.

Adding to the somber news is the revelation that as recently as May, the U.S. Ambassador to Nairobi, Prudence Bushnell, warned that security at the Nairobi embassy was inadequate.

The Nairobi facility and the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were bombed Friday, killing more than 250 people and injuring 5,000.

Bushnell herself was wounded in the bombing Friday. She first alerted the State Department of security problems last December. Bushnell was particularly concerned about the short distance between the building and the adjacent street - only about 30 feet. The recommended distance is 100 feet.

In January, a risk assessment team visited and recommended two improvements that were never made due to lack of money.

Bushnell repeated her security concerns in April and again in May, but nothing was done.

Assistant Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy, clearly emotional on the issue, spoke to reporters Wednesday night.

Kennedy insists that the two improvements that had been agreed upon would not have made any difference in the Nairobi bombing last Friday.

President Clinton, in a meeting with senior advisers Wednesday, asked for a quick report on security weaknesses at embassies worldwide so he can ask Congress for money for upgrades and to rebuild posts in Kenya and Tanzania. Key members of Congress promised to cooperate.

The search for survivors from Friday's bombing of the embassy was officially called off Wednesday with the death toll at 247, perhaps 5,000 injured.

The focus now is the investigation and collection of evidence that will lead to the apprehension of the killers.

The final act of remembrance for an atrocity no one can comprehend began with a minute's silence Wednesday.

American, Israeli, French, and Kenyan rescue workers laid wreaths, watched by a visibly moved Bushnell.

The ambassador placed her tribute last, a scattering of roses.
Asked how she felt, Ambassador Bushnell said, "Like that building...I said I'm feeling like that building - pretty devastated."

The building, which bore the brunt of the blast, has now been leveled.

©1998, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report