07 August 1998
(US has record of tracking terrorists) (300) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent New York -- Diplomats expressed outrage and dismay at the bombings of US embassies in East Africa August 7 but wondered who might be behind the bombings in that region. In an interview on CNN television, US Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson characterized US relations with Kenya and Tanzania as "good." "These are countries that we have reasonably good relationships with," the US Ambassador said. "We've been concerned in Kenya with the human rights situation there, but our relationships with Kenya, with Tanzania, have been stable." Richardson who talked with CNN journalists just hours after the bombings near US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania said that the United States has "very good" and impressive security arrangements at both embassies, which he has visited recently. Richardson said "we're very concerned, however, if our people -- our embassies -- have been targeted. We're not going to tolerate that." "But if you have very serious incidents like happened in both capitals, you know that sophisticated work has been done," the US Ambassador said. The United States has been a leader in tracking suspected terrorists and attempting to bring them to justice. Secretary General Kofi Annan, traveling in Portugal, said August 8 that he was outraged and appalled at the attacks. He also added that the region was an unlikely area for such kinds of terrorist attacks. Annan told reporters that he was "quite shocked...because this is a kind of terrorist attack that you do not see in that part of the world....it is really a very worrying situation."