Russ Feingold: “this past weekend a front page article in the Washington Post reminded us of the devastating attack on the USS Cole and…”

“this past weekend a front page article in the Washington Post reminded us of the devastating attack on the USS Cole and the inability--or unwillingness--of the administration to see the investigation to the finish line. Nearly 8 years since the attack on the Cole, and 6 rac{1}{2} since September 11, 2001, an attack directly linked to al-Qaida--and to bin Laden himself--remains stalled, at best, with few answers to key questions. I would like to take a minute to remind my colleagues of the attack I am referring to--an attack perhaps not as seared into our memories as those horrific ones of 9/11, but one that is equally as painful for those who lost loved ones and are still waiting to hold someone to account. On October 12, 2000, as the USS Navy destroyer Cole stopped briefly to refuel in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, it was attacked by a small boat loaded with explosives. The attack killed 17 members of the ship's crew, including a sailor from my home State of Wisconsin. At least 39 others were wounded. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, "The plot . . .was a full-fledged al Qaida operation, supervised directly by [Osama] bin Laden." Although teams from the FBI and other U.S. agencies were immediately sent to Yemen to investigate, the Yemeni government was hesitant to participate in the investigation.”