U.S. Outraged by Navy
Destroyer Attack
By Sue Pleming Oct 12 3:05pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
United States voiced outrage on
Thursday over an apparent suicide
bomb attack on a U.S. Navy
warship in the Yemeni port of Aden
that killed four American sailors,
injured 36 and left 12 others
missing.
``If, as it now appears, it was an act
of terrorism it was a despicable and cowardly
act,'' said President Clinton in his first public
comments on the attack.
U.S. defense officials, who asked not to be
identified, said two men aboard a small boat
helping the USS Cole with mooring lines stood
to attention just before the blast, which ripped a
hole the size of a house in the side of the
warship.
Navy officials said two other American warships
were being sent into Aden from the Gulf on
Friday to help with damage control and other
work on the Cole.
The attack coincides with a new bout of
Israeli-Palestinian violence. Anti-U.S. sentiments
are running high in much of the Arab world over
Washington's perceived support of Israel in the
latest round of fighting.
Clinton said if the Yemen blast was a terrorist
act, those responsible would be held
accountable, warning that such attacks would not
stop the United States from its role in trying to
broker peace in the Middle East.
``If their intention was to deter us from our
mission of promoting peace and security in the
Middle East they will fail utterly,'' Clinton told
reporters.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the
United States would not be cowed by such
incidents.
``If it turns out as it appears, to have been a
terrorist attack we will hold those who committed
it accountable and take appropriate steps,''
Albright said, saying the United States was
using ``all its resources'' to find out what
happened.
She added Washington would take all measures
to protect its people, but added: ``It does not
mean we can crawl into an ostrich-like mode.
We are eagles.''
The State Department said it would reiterate an
Oct. 4 warning against travel to troubled parts of
the West Bank and Yemen and reminded all
Americans abroad of the risk of violence related
to Middle East conflict.
The last major attack on U.S. targets was in
August 1998 when twin blasts rocked the U.S.
embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 250 people.
NO RESPONSIBILITY CLAIM
No one has claimed responsibility for the Yemen
attack.
Early reports indicated that a rubber raft loaded
with explosives had rammed into the huge
warship, but Navy Lt. Cmdr. Cate Mueller said
later from the Pentagon that the blast may have
occurred away from the side of the ship.
``The explosion apparently occurred on a small
boat that was assisting the Cole with mooring
lines,'' said Mueller.
The hole, on the water line on the left, port side of
the Cole, measured 20 feet by 40 feet and
caused it to list after water gushed into the lower
decks.
The United States is sending an anti-terrorism
team to Yemen to investigate the explosion, said
P.J. Crowley, National Security Council
spokesman at the White House.
He said the United States was dispatching
investigators from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and a Marine ''FAST'' team --
Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team -- that was
already in the region.
White House spokesman Jake Siewert said
Clinton had spoken to Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat on Thursday, seeking to prevent
violence from escalating in the Middle East.
Clinton also planned to speak with Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak later in the day.
Violence increased in the West Bank on
Thursday after two Israeli soldiers were killed by
Palestinians.
Israeli attack helicopters fired at targets near
Arafat's Gaza headquarters and witnesses
reported hearing seven explosions. The
headquarters itself was not hit.
Clinton condemned the murder of two Israeli
soldiers on the West Bank and urged
Palestinians and Israelis to undertake an
immediate cease-fire.
GORE, BUSH WEIGH IN
Democratic presidential nominee, Vice
President Al Gore, extended his condolences to
the relatives of those killed in the attack on the
USS Cole and said he would go to the White
House to take part in crisis discussions on the
Middle East.
``If it is determined to be the result of a terrorist
operation, those responsible should know that
the United States will not rest until the
perpetrators are held accountable,'' the vice
president said from the campaign trail.
Republican presidential candidate George W.
Bush said he was saddened and angered by the
``cowardly attack.''
``I hope we can gather enough intelligence to
figure out who did the act and take appropriate
action. There must be a consequence,'' the
Texas governor said.
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, a
prominent member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee and a Vietnam veteran,
said the United States would respond robustly to
the Aden attack, which he said appeared to be
linked to the violence in Israel.
``I believe the USA has the intelligence capability
-- we will find out and when we do a very high
price will be paid by those who perpetrated this
outrage,'' McCain told CNN. |
