October 21, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

                              THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 21, 1998


                     STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

     The United States has been unrelenting in the fight against terrorism.
We have taken strong measures against nations, including Iran, that have
sponsored terrorist efforts.  We have also supported efforts to obtain
justice on behalf of victims of terrorism, including Alisa Flatow, an
American student killed by a 1995 terrorist attack in Israel.

     However, the struggle to defeat terrorism would be weakened, not
strengthened, by putting into effect a provision of the Omnibus
Appropriations Act for FY 1999.  It would permit individuals who win court
judgments against nations on the State Department?s terrorist list to
attach embassies and certain other properties of foreign nations, despite
U.S. laws and treaty obligations barring such attachment.

     The new law allows the President to waive the provision in the
national security interest of the United States.  President Clinton has
signed the bill and, in the interests of protecting America?s security, has
exercised the waiver authority.  If the U.S. permitted attachment of
diplomatic properties, then other countries could retaliate, placing our
embassies and citizens overseas at grave risk.  Our ability to use foreign
properties as leverage in foreign policy disputes would also be undermined.

     The Administration stands ready to work with the Flatow family, which
won a U.S. court judgment against Iran, in identifying Iranian commercial
assets that may be available for attachment.  We will work to achieve
justice for Alisa Flatow and other victims without undermining our ability
to protect our interests and conduct foreign relations, including the fight
against terrorism, around the world.


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