Two reports on Cole bombing due

Source: Top admiral seeks no punishment for ship's commander

In this story: Accountable? Sources: Some security measures not carried out Separate report due RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three months after the bombing attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, the Pentagon is set to release the findings from a pair of separate investigations.

The October 12 blast in the port of Aden ripped a large hole in the left side of the $1 billion warship, killing 17 U.S. sailors and wounding 39 others. The State Department has labeled Yemen a "safe haven" for terrorists.

VIDEO Pentagon sources say Navy investigators found that ship's skipper failed to take some basic security measures CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) The USS Cole arrives back in the U.S. (December 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     GALLERY Images of Cole being loaded onto transport ship Photographs give closeup view of Cole damage     INTERACTIVE Timeline: The attack on the USS Cole     MESSAGE BOARD USS Cole attack

In the aftermath of one investigation, the Navy decided that neither the captain nor crew of the destroyer should be punished for failing to follow all prescribed security precautions before the attack, a senior defense official told CNN on Monday.

Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations and final arbiter in the matter, has decided to endorse the determination made last week by Adm. Robert Natter, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, that no punishment is deserved, said the defense official, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.

It remains possible that others, higher in rank than the Cole's captain, could be held accountable.

Defense Secretary William Cohen plans to order an accountability review, separate from the Navy's internal investigation, Pentagon sources told CNN. It would seek to determine whether military officers responsible for U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf area can be faulted for shortcomings such as inadequate intelligence warnings of threats from terrorists.

The Navy probe sought to determine circumstances of the attack and what "force protection," or preventive measures, the captain ordered the crew to take.

Because the Cole's captain, Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, did not carry out all of the required actions to ensure the ship's protection while on a refueling stop in Yemen's Aden harbor, he could have been punished and his career ruined.

Instead, Clark supported Natter's determination that Lippold had done what could have been reasonably expected under the circumstances and that he was not given necessary information about the terrorist threat in Aden, a major port at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Clark and Natter also believe that even with security measures in place as prescribed, the attack would not have been prevented, defense officials said.

Defense Secretary William Cohen plans to order an accountability review, separate from the Navy's internal investigation

As the Cole took on fuel in Aden harbor, a small boat sidled up to the 505-foot destroyer.

Explosives aboard the small boat were detonated, damaging the destroyer so severely it almost sank. Senior Navy officials, including Natter, praised Lippold and the crew for having acted heroically to save the ship.

At the time of the blast, the Cole was under "Threat Condition Bravo" -- the second highest of four alert levels -- which requires guards on deck to keep small boats away and mount a close watch for possible attacks during a refueling operation.

Sources familiar with Natter's report say it found 30 of 62 security measures called for under "Threat Condition Bravo" were not carried out -- many of them judged to be unnecessary because the ship was refueling in the harbor, away from a pier.

However, according to Pentagon sources, almost a dozen other lapses were considered significant, including:

• Failure to brief the ship's crew on the threat condition in effect.
  
• Failure to warn the crew to be "suspicious and inquisitive of strangers."
  
• Failure to inform the crew that "harbor craft require special concern because they can serve as an ideal platform for terrorists."
  
• Failure to keep "unauthorized craft" away from the ship.
  
• Failure to "identify and inspect work boats."
  
• Failure to prepare fire hoses for the purpose of "repelling boarders, small boats, and ultralight aircraft."
  

Pentagon sources said Lippold apparently believed that fire hoses would not strengthen the ship's defenses.

Navy Adm. Harold Gehman, right, and retired Army Gen. William Crouch

Some crew members interviewed after the attack said they saw the small boat approach the Cole and assumed it was yet another harbor craft providing trash disposal and other services. No one on the Cole challenged the craft as it approached.

The Navy officer who conducted the Cole investigation, whose name has not been disclosed, found that the attack might have been prevented or minimized if Lippold had ensured that all preventive actions were taken.

But Natter disagreed, and Clark endorsed Natter's view, the senior Pentagon official said.

Clark has determined that no negative report related to the Cole attack should be placed in Lippold's personnel file, the official said.

In addition to the Navy probe, Cohen established a special commission to find what force protection lessons could be learned from the Cole bombing. The commission, headed by retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman and retired Army Gen. William Crouch, does not assess accountability in the Cole attack.

Officials familiar with the panel's forthcoming report say it concludes that the U.S. government needs to do more to guard against terrorist attacks on U.S. military forces transiting abroad -- not just ships like the Cole but also aircraft that refuel in remote places.

The officials say the commission's report asserts the view that terrorism is a long-term threat that deserves more attention, including more resources for intelligence warnings. The officials discussed the commission's finding on condition of anonymity.

CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: No punishment for USS Cole commander
January 8, 2001
Admiral seeks no punishment for Cole commander
January 7, 2001
Pentagon to review actions of senior USS Cole commanders, sources say
January 6, 2001
Pentagon panel urges tighter overseas security for U.S. military
January 2, 2001
USS Cole plot began after embassy attacks, investigator says
December 20, 2000

U.S. Navy
  • Chief of Naval Operations: Admiral Vern Clark
  • Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet: Admiral Robert J. Natter
  • USS Cole (DDG 67)
The Pentagon: Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense
U.S. State Department, Response to Terrorism
Counter-Terrorism - Terrorism and Security Information

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