By Alan Sipress and Maria Elena Fernandez
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 18, 1998; Page A55

Security was tight yesterday around government buildings, embassies and tourist sites, as well as at the area's airports and Union Station, as officials were on alert to protect against any revenge attack provoked by the American bombing of Iraq.

D.C. police beefed up their presence around all "critical installations," said Sgt. Joe Gentile, a police spokesman. Additional D.C. officers were assigned to protect Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue NW, downtown federal buildings and media office buildings.

"We are on alert, and we will review our plan as the situation in Iraq continues," Gentile said.

The U.S. Park Police went on heightened alert Wednesday night, deploying extra officers around downtown tourist attractions. Officers who are routinely assigned to specialized units instead are providing increased uniformed presence around the Washington Monument, the memorials and the White House.

U.S. Capitol Police increased patrols around the Capitol and nearby areas, spokesman Lt. Dan Nichols said.

"We have a higher uniformed police presence in the field," Nichols said. "We're looking for any unusual activity, such as illegally parked vehicles, suspicious packages and things of that nature."

Michelle Petty, of Springfield, noticed the extra police as she led her mother and grandmother, visiting from Austin, on a tour of the White House, the Capitol and downtown monuments.

"I was wondering about whether I should bring them into town the day after the bombings," Petty said. "I was thinking maybe I should postpone so that we wouldn't be in the middle of everything. I have seen police everywhere I've been, and I feel protected."

Other tourists, however, saw no difference around the downtown sites. "If they had extra security measures, it was undercover security, I'll tell you that. I didn't notice anything extraordinary," said Charlanne Graham, of Santa Cruz, Calif., who has visited Washington before.

Although Metro has not expanded its patrols, transit police and vehicle operators have been instructed to watch for suspicious or abandoned packages, and the agency is asking passengers to do the same.

"We have a very open system," said Metro spokeswoman Cheryl Johnson. "You just have to buy a Farecard or pay a bus fare, and you enter the system. That's why we have to depend on people to be extra alert and extra aware."

Passengers alerted transit police to two suspicious packages yesterday morning at Metrorail's Foggy Bottom and Eastern Market stations. Neither turned out to be dangerous. The New Carrollton rail yard was evacuated before dawn yesterday after a Metro train cleaner discovered an abandoned package under a seat. An emergency response team from Prince George's County determined that the item was harmless.

"We want to err on the side of caution, given the tenor of the times," Johnson said.

Amtrak police went to a higher state of alert at 6 p.m. Wednesday, an hour after American missiles began to strike Iraq. Rick Remington, an Amtrak spokesman, said the company has increased the uniformed police presence at its stations, including Union Station, and has stepped up patrols of the railroad tracks and right of way to guard against sabotage.

Amtrak also increased the frequency of station announcements warning travelers to watch for unattended baggage.

Officials at the area's airports said they continued to implement aggressive security initiatives first taken in 1995 and strengthened in August after attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Those include measures to identify explosives and tougher enforcement against vehicles left unattended in front of the terminals.

Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the regional agency that operates Reagan National and Dulles International airports, said passengers would not notice any difference in security because the facilities have been on a heightened alert since summer. The Federal Aviation Administration has repeated its call for airport vigilance.

"We reinforced with airports and airlines that they need to pay double attention to all the strengthened security measures," said FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler.

Security is also tight at the British Embassy. Britain has dispatched military aircraft as part of the U.S.-led bombardment of Iraq. Anthony Cary, an embassy spokesman, said that a metal barrier has been raised at the embassy entrance to regulate the entrance of cars and that an additional police patrol has been posted on the street.

Cary said the embassy's heightened state of alert also involved other security measures, but he would not discuss them.