"We will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to find those who killed our sailors and hold them accountable." --President Clinton, October 14, 2000

On October 12, 2000, a small boat exploded alongside the USS Cole killing 17 sailors, wounding 39 others, and leaving extensive damages.

"Our prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones," President Clinton said in a statement on October 12.

The USS Cole was refueling in the port city of Aden, Yemen. Officials believe that two suicide bombers crashed the small boat into the USS Cole, detonating a bomb. Yemeni officials discovered bomb making equipment in a house near Aden and believe that the two men spent several days there planning the attack.

"If, as it now appears, this was an act of terrorism, it was a despicable and cowardly act. We will find out who was responsible and hold them accountable. If their intention was to deter us from our mission of promoting peace and security in the Middle East, they will fail utterly. The alternative to the peace process is now no longer merely hypothetical. It is unfolding today before our very eyes," Clinton said.

President Clinton directed the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department to send officials to Yemen to investigate the attack. Clinton ordered U.S. ships in the region to pull out of the port, and ordered U.S. land forces to increase their security.

The USS Cole was lifted aboard the Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V Blue Marlin and towed back to the United States.

The Navy held a memorial service on October 18, 2000, at the ship’s home port of Norfolk, Virginia. President Clinton and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen were in attendence.