President Clinton has gone back to his Martha's Vineyard holiday encouraged by strong popular support for the military strikes he ordered on Sudan and Afghanistan.
The strikes are being described as the start of a "long-term battle" against terrorists. But suspicions remain among some political opponents and the public that the timing of the strikes this week was influenced by his own domestic problems arising from the admission last Monday of an affair with Ms Monica Lewinsky.
A claim by Pakistan that one of the US cruise missiles used in the strikes had gone astray and killed six people in a Pakistani village was later withdrawn by Islamabad. But the Pakistan Government still condemned the strikes.
International support for the US action was also somewhat tarnished by a condemnation and expression of anger from President Yeltsin, whom Mr Clinton is due to meet at a summit the week after next. A spokesman for Mr Yeltsin said later he was upset at not being informed in advance.
Mr Clinton's national security adviser, Mr Sandy Berger, defended the US stance saying that "operational secrecy" was extremely important for the strikes. No foreign leaders had been informed in advance although some had been "simultaneously", he said. Mr Clinton sent Mr Yeltsin a written message,
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said the Government agrees with the US on the need to intensify the fight against terrorism, but it was not for the Government to say whether Thursday's attacks were justified.
Security around the US at airports and official buildings was stepped up yesterday as there were warnings of possible reprisals by terrorist groups. Americans abroad have been warned to be especially vigilant.
A spokesperson for Mr Osama bin Laden, the leader of a terrorist network using the camps raided in Afghanistan, said yesterday that he would "reply in deeds not words" to the US strikes.
The US is still evaluating the damage caused by the missile strikes. The Under-Secretary of State, Mr Thomas Pickering, said there was "moderate to heavy damage" at each of the targets.
Mr Berger said that the so-called pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum in the Sudan had been "functionally destroyed".
The US claims that the factory makes "a precursor" for the production of VX nerve gas. The Sudanese Government denies this. The raid on the terrorist training complex in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan is said to have done extensive damage but cloud cover has prevented more detailed observation.
Most Americans approve of Mr Clinton's action against terrorism, according to the latest polls. The support ranged from 66 per cent in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll to 80 per cent in an ABC poll. But a majority in the Gallup poll said it was legitimate for members of Congress to question the timing of the strikes. Some 30 per cent said that they were suspicious of the timing.