Clinton vows to track down 'cowards' in USS Cole attack
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bill Clinton on Saturday promised to track down and punish the "hate-filled cowards" behind a suspected suicide bombing of a U.S. warship in Yemen.
"We will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to find those who killed our sailors and hold them accountable," Clinton said in his radio address, after a week of escalating violence in the Middle East.
Clinton said he would not allow Thursday's attack against the USS Cole, which killed 17 sailors, derail his efforts to end bloody clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.
"No matter how difficult that task may be, no matter how terrible the images of this week's violence, the effort must continue with America's strong support," Clinton said.
The United States has launched an intense investigation into the attack on the Cole, in which a massive blast from a nearby small boat ripped into one of the warship's engine rooms.
In his radio address, Clinton eulogized the "brave American sailors" who lost their lives in the blast, and told their families "we join you in grief."
"Our sailors aboard the USS Cole were simply doing their duty, but a dangerous duty: Standing guard for peace," Clinton said. "To our sailors' families, let me say we hold you in our prayers."
Clinton promised to keep up the fight against terrorism, and to press ahead with efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian violence.
"For only by defending our people, our interests and our values will we redeem the lives of our sailors and ruin the schemes of their killers," Clinton said.
"Ending the violence and getting people of the Middle East back to dialogue will be hard after what has happened.
"As in all the world's troubled places, our efforts do not guarantee success," Clinton said. "But not to try is to guarantee failure."
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