White House Monitoring London Incidents

WASHINGTON – President Bush, speaking after new attacks in London, said Thursday that terrorists are trying to shake the will of the free world by killing innocent people.

“They don’t understand that when it comes to the defense of universal freedoms, this country won’t be frightened,” the president said during an appearance before members of the Organization of American States.

He did not mention the explosions in London but devoted part of his speech – an address about trade – to the war against terrorism.

Bush had been briefed earlier by senior aides on the evacuation of three London subway stations two weeks to the day after mass transit attacks there killed 56 people including four suicide bombers.

“We’re monitoring the situation closely,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

He said Bush was briefed on the London developments by White House chief of staff Andy Card and Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, at the end of the president’s regular intelligence briefing.

At the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Michael Chertoff was described as closely monitoring events. But spokeswoman Kathleen Montgomery said that Chertoff had no immediate plans to raise the U.S. terror alert beyond current levels.

U.S. mass transit systems remain on code orange, or high alert, since the London bombings two weeks ago, but the rest of the country is at yellow, signifying an elevated risk.

U.S. officials are unaware of any specific intelligence indicating a similar attack on the homeland, Montgomery said.

In the nation’s capital, trains and buses were running normally and authorities remained on heightened alert, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. Passengers should expect to see bomb-sniffing dogs and increased patrols at train stations, she said. Buses also may be randomly checked.

The Pentagon increased security on its grounds in response to the latest London problem. Spokesman Bryan Whitman said there was no specific threat against the building, which is adjacent to a Washington-area subway stop.

The incident triggered immediate reaction on Capitol Hill, where the House chaplain opened the day’s proceedings with a prayer for any victims, and where one congressman used the report and the example of earlier bombings in London and Madrid to call for additional funding for mass transit security.

“Instead of acting as a wakeup call, Congress seems to be hitting the snooze button,” said Rep. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. “How many warnings do we need before we take action.”