ATTACK ON COLE TURNED TERRORIST BOAT TO 'CONFETTI' EXPLOSION RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT YEMEN SECURITY, OFFICIALS SAY; UNDERWATER SEARCH FOR 10 SAILORS CONTINUES

The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia)

October 16, 2000, Monday,, FINAL EDITION

A blast more powerful ''than just TNT'' buckled the USS Cole's deck and turned the attacking boat into ''confetti size'' pieces that rained down on the crippled destroyer, officials said Sunday in accounts that shed light on the enormous devastation of the bombing. The details, provided by senior U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, also raised questions about the level of security in a port selected last year as a key refueling point for U.S. warships traveling between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.

There has been no credible claim of responsibility from Thursday's apparent suicide attack, which killed 17 sailors, wounded 39 others and punched a 40-by-40-foot chasm in the hull. Yemeni security forces have detained more than a dozen people for further questioning, but no arrests have been announced. It ranks as the deadliest terrorist attack on the U.S. military since the bombing of an Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996 that killed 19.

''Now exactly who was behind it, what their motivation was and how they were able to arrange it, that we can't speculate on,'' said Barbara Bodine, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen. ''The ship has suffered a tremendous blow,'' said Rear Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, the military commander of the U.S. task force sent to the ship. On the listing deck of the Cole, crew members gathered for religious services and offered prayers for their dead shipmates - some still wedged behind contorted metal below. A planned formal memorial was delayed because the crew worked through the night to control flooding after another bulk head collapsed, officials said.

Also on Sunday, the plane carrying 33 injured crew members landed at the Norfolk Naval Station in Norfolk, Va., while the other six injured remained hospitalized in Germany. The bodies of five of the sailors killed arrived back on U.S. soil Saturday. Meanwhile, experts began scouring the ravaged ship in search of clues and the bodies of sailors still missing. Divers began searching water-filled compartments. Crews with powerful metal cutters will try to slice through the wreckage to reach bodies: two visible and 10 still missing and perhaps trapped behind floors and walls bent wildly by the blast.

Terrorism and explosive experts combed through scenes described by a U.S. official as ''utter devastation.'' On the deck, ''confetti size'' pieces from the wooden attack boat were collected, the official said. Among the tasks for the investigators: looking for residue that could indicate the type of explosives. One of the officials said the power of the blast suggested ''more than just TNT'' - which could suggest a well-organized and supplied group.

The officials said the blast occurred shortly after the ship was secured to two buoys to begin refueling in the harbor, which was full of pleasure boats, fishing vessels and merchant ships. About two to three support vessels were around the Cole, including pilot craft and a garbage barge. There was no cry of alarm from the Cole's crew. Two people on the attack boat reportedly stood at attention briefly before the explosion.

The blast at the waterline was close to the dining area for senior enlisted officers. Most hands were busy finishing the docking. A few minutes later, however, and the mess area would have started to fill. Immediately after the explosion, the ship began to fill with oily water from the 40-foot deep harbor. The ship listed under the weight of the flood. The impact wrenched open hatches and buckled parts of the deck on the 4-year-old destroyer, whose modern construction may have helped it stay afloat. Power was lost, and generators were used to pump out water and keep the Cole afloat.

The U.S. Navy has ''blanket clearance'' to dock at Aden, where it keeps its own stockpile of fuel in cooperation with a private Yemeni company. Normally, a 48-hour advance notice is given of a ship's arrival. The information is passed on to Yemeni port authorities and the fuel agent, officials said. U.S. diplomats have insisted the Yemeni government is not suspected of any terrorists links. But security has been a key issue regarding Aden, the home base for an Islamic militant group founded by the brother of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Mr. bin Laden has been accused of links to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.

HOLLOWAY'S COMMENTARY

The mystery of what hit the USS Cole on 12 October 2000 has never been solved. The power of the blast though suggests that the Cole was hit with a tactical nuclear weapon. The attack was retaliation for the sinking of the Kursk that had occurred on the 12th of August just two months prior. The odds of two significant naval attacks occurring on the 12th of the month in a year are 925 to 1. So, the odds that this was a coincidence are very long indeed. 

The attackers according the article only may have had a 48 hour window to launch the attack. This shows that the attackers were very sophisticated. The attack was too sophisticated for Bin Laden. Yemen during the Cold War was divided along ideological lines. North Yemen was supported by the Soviets. The Russian's had intelligence assets in the country. The attack was revenge for America's sinking of the Kursk. 

The attack on the USS COLE could have been prevented, if the ship had been nuclear powered, then there would have been no need to refuel in the port at Aden. The United States Navy is beholden to BIG OIL. The Navy consumes large amounts of petroleum to power it's surface fleet [1]. An oil fueled fleet might be good for America's oil companies. But, on October 12, 2000 it caused the deaths of 17 sailors. Greed is more important than the safety of America's sailors. 17 sailors had to die, so fat cat Americans could make a buck off an antiquated technology known as OIL. 

13 September 2019
The fact that the USN had "blanket clearance", meaning they can just enter the port of Aden whenever they want no prior warning given, shows that the level of sophistication needed to carry out the attack was beyond Bin Laden's capability. The attackers needed surveillance to carry out the attack. Only the Russians would have both the motive and capability to carry out this attack. 

1. The USN spent 4 to 5 billion dollars a year on fuel in 2013. 

SOURCE:
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/02/us-navy-spends-4-billion-fuel-every-year/