Russ Feingold: “I rise to offer my sincere condolences to the families of the U.S. Navy personnel killed in what appears to have been a…”

“I rise to offer my sincere condolences to the families of the U.S. Navy personnel killed in what appears to have been a terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and to express my outrage at this cowardly act of murder. This deplorable incident is a tragic reminder of the risk and sacrifice assumed by all of our men and women in uniform, and by their families. I know that the administration will be using all of the resources at its disposal to discern who is responsible for the attack, and that the U.S. will resolutely take appropriate action in response to this incident. My certainty about that last point is based on a simple and irrefutable truth. No country would stand by while its soldiers and sailors are targeted and killed. The U.S. will certainly not stand for it and will not be intimidated in the wake of the cowardly attack on the Cole. By the same token, it should surprise no one that Israel retaliated in response to the brutal murder of Israeli soldiers at the hands of a mob in Ramallah. But as difficult as it is, as raw as emotions are right now, we cannot afford to lose sight of one fundamental fact. All of us--we Americans, the rest of the international community, the Israelis and the Palestinians--know that there is no military solution to the terribly difficult issues that have made the Middle East a region of tension and violence for far too long.”