June 11, 1993

The Administration wants the F.B.I. Director, William S. Sessions, to step down and is negotiating when and how, officials said. Page A18.

Contending that an agreement on conventional forces in Europe is not letting it respond to new threats to its border security on the south, Russia has told the Clinton Administration that it wants to revise the treaty. Officials said Washington was not interested in reopening the issue. Article, page A5.

WHAT did Kevin Roche set out to do? How well did he do it? Was it worth doing? If Mr. Roche's design for the Jewish Museum's new expansion brings to mind Goethe's standard formula for critical appraisal, that may be because the design itself is somewhat formulaic. It is an appealing formula, and Mr. Roche carries it off with devotion and skill. The building does not lack conviction. But it does lack depth. This Sunday's long-awaited reopening of the museum after two and a half years of renovations brings to fulfillment an ambitious plan, conceived in 1989, to give the Jewish Museum a home worthy of its mission. With a permanent collection of more than 27,000 objects -- ranging from archeological artifacts to contemporary paintings -- this is the major American museum devoted to Jewish culture and history. The museum has grown in stages since its founding in 1904, when it was provisionally housed in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Since 1947, it has occupied the former Warburg Mansion on Fifth Avenue at 92d Street. The choice of Mr. Roche, an internationally celebrated architect whose achievements include the master plan for additions to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, insured that the museum would assume an even grander presence on Museum Mile.

With the United States and Japan heading into a period of unusually bitter exchanges on economic issues, the American Ambassador here described Japan's efforts to depict itself as a free trader as "propaganda." He said it would only stiffen the Clinton Administration's resolve to use market share targets to open Japan to imports. "I admire the chutzpah that this P.R. campaign represents, and in some respects I welcome that the Japanese are touting themselves as the champions of free trade," the Ambassador, Michael Armacost, said in an interview today. "It goes without saying that those who wish to enjoy that reputation will be held accountable to a higher standard of conduct." Reflection on Difficult Times Mr. Armacost, a highly regarded career diplomat, is expected to wind up a four-year tour here this summer, and to be replaced by former Vice President Walter F. Mondale. Reflecting on the difficult times he has spent in Japan, he said he was pleased at how well the two nations had managed the array of tough security and political issues that had followed the end of the cold war.

FLORIO BANS BLIND TRUSTS Governor Florio has issued an executive order to eliminate the use of blind trusts by key state employees and prohibit companies owned by these workers from doing business with government. . The rationale is in part political, as Mr. Florio tries to distance himself from an inquiry into a company owned a former aide. A1. NEW YORK CITY PEACE CORPS JOB FOR BELLAMY? President Clinton is expected to nominate Carol Bellamy, former president of New York's City Council, as director of the Peace Corps, Administration officials say. Ms. Bellamy is an investment banker for Bear Stearns. A16.