白宫新闻秘书办公室________________________________________________________________________要求立即发布2000年10月12日总统关于中东局势和科尔号军舰在也门玫瑰园事件的声明我刚刚与我的国家安全团队就今天在中东发生的悲惨事件举行了会议，我想做一个简短的声明。首先，如你所知，今天早上我们的一艘海军舰艇科尔号发生爆炸，造成至少四名水兵死亡。许多人受伤;目前仍有一个号码下落不明。他们只是在履行自己的职责。这艘船在前往波斯湾的途中在也门的一个港口加油。我们正在紧急向现场提供医疗援助，我们为失去亲人或仍在等待消息的家庭祈祷。现在看来，如果这是一次恐怖主义行动，那也是一次卑鄙和懦弱的行动。我们将找出肇事者并追究他们的责任。 If their intention was to deter us from our mission of promoting peace and security in the Middle East, they will fail, utterly. I have directed the Department of Defense, the FBI and the State Department to send officials to Yemen to begin the investigation. Secretary Albright has spoken with President Salih of Yemen, and we expect to work closely with his government to that effect. Our military forces and our embassies in the region have been on heightened state of alert for some time now. I have ordered our ships in the region to pull out of port, and our land forces to increase their security. Tensions are extremely high today throughout the entire region, as all of you know. I strongly condemn the murder of Israeli soldiers in Ramallah today. While I understand the anguish Palestinians feel over the losses they have suffered, there can be no possible justification for mob violence. I call on both sides to undertake a cease-fire immediately, and immediately to condemn all acts of violence. Finally, let me say this. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the greatest tragedies and most difficult problems of our time. But it can be solved. The progress of the last few years -- progress that brought Israel to the hope of a final peace with true security, and Palestinians to the hope of a sovereign state recognized by the entire world -- was not made through violence. It happened because both sides sat down together, negotiated, and slowly built up the trust that violence destroys. Now is the time to stop the bloodshed, to restore calm, to return to dialogue, and ultimately to the negotiating table. The alternative to the peace process is now no longer merely hypothetical. It is unfolding today before our very eyes. Now, I need to go back to work on this, and so I won't take questions right now. But the Department of Defense will offer a briefing today and will be able to answer the questions that are relevant to today's events. Thank you. END 1:52 P.M. EDT