Assoluta Tranquillita: USS Cole: Where is their justice?

In 2012 I asked USS Cole: A watershed moment?

Read on here, as I repost that column.

President Bill Clinton declared, "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". Some critics have pointed out that, under U.S. law, an attack against a military target does not meet the legal definition of terrorism...( read more on Wiki here.)

There is no doubt in my mind that this WAS an act of terrorism. It WAS a despicable and cowardly act.

USS Cole (DDG 67): A guest post from CDR Kirk S. Lippold, USN (Ret.)

October 2010

Below is a guest post from CDR Lippold. He will be following along in the comments. If you have questions for him, please pose them.

The attack on USS Cole (DDG 67) ten years ago this October 12, was a watershed moment for the Navy and the nation. It signified that al Qaeda was now willing to attack our military capability to defend our interests worldwide. It was also a subtle shift in tactics lost on both the military and political leadership of the country. Tragically, the American people paid a heavy price eleven months later with the attacks of September 11.

Today, the military is fully engaged in a war effort to stem the tide of al Qaeda and its radical brand of Islam. As we were warned, this will be long-term fight with a determined enemy willing to die for their cause. While fortunate to date that no large-scale attacks have been successfully carried out within our borders, it is up to everyone to keep up their guard and not allow complacency to overtake the daily grind of our jobs, school and kid’s soccer games.
The crew of USS Cole rebounded from that attack and all have gone on to achieve remarkable lives for themselves – business owners, college educations, and careers within the Navy. Each possesses a unique insight into the horrors of combat the Navy has rarely seen since World War II. For the seventeen sailors that were killed that day, as well as the three shipmates we have lost since then, not a day goes by that I don’t think of them. I miss my shipmates.
This October 12, at 11:18 am the crew and families will gather in Norfolk, Virginia, to pay tribute and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. While the 10^th anniversary may be significant, for those us who saved a ship from sinking and worked tirelessly to prevent our shipmates from dying, every anniversary is just as important as the last. To those who continue to serve our nation today, thank you for your service. God Bless each of our servicemen and women and the United States of America!

All the best,
Kirk

(USNI here)

It would be very easy for me to do a political rant here, and for me to dwell on the unwillingness of the current 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's resident to call any attack on the US what it is: terrorism. Instead, I choose to remember those loved ones who lost their lives that day.

There are many sites remembering these fallen heroes. Start here, or here, or here. Arlington Cemetery also has a site dedicated to them, here.

Cherone Gunn

Signalman SR
Rex, Ga.

James McDaniels

Seaman
Norfolk, Va.

Timothy Saunders

OS 2
Ringgold, Va.

Lakiba Palmer

Seaman Recruit
San Diego, Ca.

Richard Costelow

ET Chief
Morrisville, Pa.

Andrew Triplett

Ensign
Macon, Miss.

Craig Wibberley

Seaman Apprentice
Williamsport, Md.

Gary Swenchonis Jr.

Fireman
Rockport, Texas

Kenneth Clodfelter

HT3
Mechanicsville, Va.

Lakeina Francis

MSSN
Woodleaf, N.C.

Timothy Gauna

ISSN
Rice, Texas

Marc Nieto

EN2
Fond du Lac, Wis.

Ronald Owens

EWT3
Vero Beach, Fla.

Joshua Parlett

ENFN
Churchville, Md.

Patrick Roy

Fireman Apprentice
Keedysville, Md.

Kevin Rux

EWT1 Portland, N.D.

Ronchester Santiago

MS3 Kingsville, Texas

Find these pictures, and much more about that infamous day, here, on the USS Cole Memorial page.

At the dedication of the USS Cole Memorial, then President Bill Clinton said (in part):

...In the names and faces of those we lost and mourn, the world sees our nation's greatest strength: people in uniform rooted in every race, creed and region on the face of the Earth, yet bound together by a common commitment to freedom and a common pride in being Americans.

That same spirit is living today as the crew of the USS Cole pulls together in a determined struggle to keep the determined warrior afloat....

[...]

America will not stop standing guard for peace or freedom or stability in the Middle East and around the world. But some way, some day, people must learn the lesson of the lives of those we mourn today, of how they worked together, of how they lived together, of how they reached across all the lines that divided them and embraced their common humanity and the common values of freedom and service.

Not far from here, there is a quiet place that honors those who gave their lives in service to our country. Adorning its entrance are words from a poem by Archibald MacLeish, not only a tribute to the young we lost, but a summons to those of us left behind. Listen to them.

"The young no longer speak, but they have a silence that speaks for them at night. They say, we were young, remember us. They say, we have done what we could, but until it is finished, it is not done. They say, our deaths are not ours, they are yours. They will mean what you make them. They say, whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope, we cannot say. It is you who must say this. They say, we leave you our deaths; give them their meaning."
The lives of the men and women we lost on the USS Cole meant so much to those who loved them, to all Americans, to the cause of freedom...

Read the rest of Clinton's speech here.

Today, they - and all of us - still wait for JUSTICE.

Navy Times has a good article of the crew: After 15 years,USS Cole crew reflects on terror attack

For much more on this Terrorist attack, follow the links within the post above AND check out War on Terror News column from 2010: On This Day in History, Oct 12, 2000: USS Cole Attack
As always WOTN is a MUST READ.