13 October 2006
Six Years After Terror Attack, Navy Ship Patrols Gulf of Aden
White House says al-Qaida perpetrators of attack on USS Cole are in custody
Washington – Six years ago, al-Qaida terrorists attacked a U.S. Navy ship during a refueling stop in Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed, but the crew saved the crippled destroyer and it once again patrols international waters around the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
President Bush said the anniversary of the attack on the USS Cole is an opportunity to remember the brave service members “whose lives were cut short by this act of terrorism and to give thanks to the brave crew whose heroic actions saved their ship and fellow shipmates.”
On October 12, 2000, suicide bombers detonated explosives on the port side of the Cole while it was refueling. With a gaping hole at the waterline and with scores of wounded, the crew brought the flooding of the ship under control, restored critical systems and saved injured sailors trapped in the wreckage. The ship was later lifted aboard a Norwegian transport ship and returned to the United States for extensive repairs. (See related articles.)
“With the men we believe to be the key architects of that attack now in custody,” Bush said, “this anniversary should serve to renew America’s dedication to bring terrorists to justice.” Six years ago, the president said, the United States was tested by terrorism. Terrorists are still an active threat, he said, “but we are responding resolutely and forcefully.”
Navy Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh said the Cole has been conducting maritime security operations – alongside coalition partners – for months “in the very same waters where she was attacked.” The commander of the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet said maritime security operations which the guided missile destroyer is supporting aim “to deny terrorists and their enablers the use of the sea and complement the counterterrorism and security efforts of our regional partners nations.”
When the destroyer stopped in Bahrain in October -- its first port of call since being attacked -- the ship’s commanding officer said it sent a clear signal: “The Cole is back out operating and maintaining peace and stability in the region.”
Navy Commander Brad Roberson said the Cole’s return is an indication of the fortitude of the United States and its “strength to persist and endure.”
The full text of the president’s statement is available on the White House web site.
For more information, see Attack on USS Cole and Response to Terrorism.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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