Publicity forces State Dept. to backtrack on VOA editorial

WASHINGTON — The Clinton administration has overridden a State Department memo objecting to a Voice of America editorial that deplored the attack on the USS Cole in Aden.

The VOA editorial was broadcast on Wednesday after the memo was published by DrudgeReport.com. Officials called the memo unjustified and said that it was a rare case of the government intervening in VOA broadcasts.

The memo, dated Oct. 16, warned against broadcasting the VOA editorial, which reaffirmed U.S. policy against negotiating with terrorists. The memo said that a condemnation of terrorism broadcast to the Middle East might antagonize Palestinians and other Arabs during the mini-war with Israel.

"This editorial will reach an audience that is caught up in the violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories," the memo said. "The 17 or so dead sailors does not compare to the 100+ Palestinians who have died in recent weeks where we have remained silent. The people that hear this will not see the separation we are trying to make and relate it directly to the violence."

"The Department of State does not clear on the referenced VOA editorial," the memo said.

As a result, the memo urged VOA to add a reference to the Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli troops over the last two weeks.

The State Department, however, backtracked when the memo was leaked and discussed Tuesday on U.S. television. Hours later, the State Department approved the VOA editorial.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the memo "in no way reflects the views of the Secretary of State, the Department, or the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. It was not vetted or approved through appropriate channels."

In Sanaa, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said progress has been made in the investigation of the bombing. Saleh said authorities found the car that transported the booby-trapped boat that rammed into the USS Cole as well as the lair of the suspected terrorists.

"The attack had been planned for a long time," Saleh said.