The Causes and Handling of USS Cole Bombing - Research Paper Example

The causes and handling of USS Cole Bombing The causes and handling of USS Cole Bombing Introduction The Cole bombing against USS was done as a form of a suicide attack on the 12th of October 2000. It was meant for the United States Navy. The main object used was the USS Cole (DDG-67) which is also a guided missile destroyer. This is through the way that it was harbored and being refueled in the port Aden of Yemen. This bombing resulted in the death o0f 17 sailors from America and the injury of 39 Americans. Most of these victims were the members of crew in the vessel. It is with this that it is considered as o0ne of the deadliest attacks against a naval vessel belonging to the United States since 1987. As such, this paper will analyze the reasons that brought about the occurrence of these attacks in addition to the outcome in terms of what happened to the bombers after the attack. The Occurrence of the USS Cole bombing This terrorism incident took place on October 12 2000, which was on a Thursday. The vessel that had been docked was being refueled at one of the ports in Aden in Yemen. This was a routine fuel stop for the vessel, which was under the command of the Commander Kork Lippold. The attack on Cole, which is a US Navy Destroyer, was accomplished by two suicide bombers. They are said to have been travelling in a tiny motorboat that had been filled with explosives. They are estimated to have been around 200-300 kg (Whitaker, 2003). The small boat that the two were travelling in was said to have approached the destroyer from its port side. Subsequent to this, the explosion was executed at 11: 18 in the morning Bahrain time. According to witness reports, the boat sidled towards the side of the port side. It came so close that it even made it possible for the sailors who were on board to exchange greetings with the two suicide bombers who were planning to execute the crime. This was just before the explosion when they stood at attention and detonated the explosives minutes later. At the moment of the explosion, the crew members had already started lining up to take their lunch in the gallery. As a result of the explosion, a hole that was 40 feet wide was blown into the ship on one of its sides. The members of crew fought as they were making attempts to get space within the engineering spaces. The CIA officials believe that this blast was caused by a sharp charge which refers to the explosives that are designed to fit into the hull of the boat. They managed to bring the damage under control after three days. After the inspection of the vessel following the attack, divers ascertained that the keel within the hull had not experienced any damages. The USS Cole It was the attacked Navy ship that at the time of the assault was carrying a 293 capacity of crew. At the time, it was navigating towards the Persian Gulf in the mission to assist with the enforcement of an oil embargo against Iraq. Although the Aden port in Yemen had initially been declared to be off-limits for any ship belonging to the US, as one of the provided safety measures, it was opened again in order to aid in the further improvements of the relations between Yemen and the US. On the day that the bombing attack took place President Bill Clinton stated that it was a clear act of terrorism in the way that it appeared. He however termed it to be an act of cowardice and one that was despicable in all manner of ways. For this reason, he vowed to find out the individuals who were responsible for the action and make them accountable for it. This was however going to be a great challenge since according to some critics; an attack that is targeted towards the military is not categorized as an act of terrorism under the US law (Jeremy, 2007). Previously, the terrorist group had attempted a similar attack on a US Navy destroyer The Sullivan although it had been made less public. This vessel was at the port of Aden on January 3 2000. There had been a similar arrangement where a boat was to be loaded with explosives and moved towards The Sullivan where it would be exploded. However, the intended boat had been fully laden that it sank thus leading to the abandonment of the operation. These explosives were later salvaged, and as most of the officials believe they were the same ones that were used in the attack of the USS Cole. (Piszkiewizc, 2003). What caused the bombing of USS Cole? The attack on Cole, which was a US Navy ship, took place one year before the September 11 attacks in the US. The vessel, which was located at the Yemen Coast, got its attack from suicide bombers. This attack was associated with a particular cell within the Al Qaeda network of operations. This was the case since immediately after the attack; the Al Qaeda terrorism organization claimed that they were responsible for the attack. It acted as a proof against the claims by one of the judges in the US that Sudan had been involved in the attack. This had resulted to the release of the frozen assets that belonged to the Sudanese government towards the relatives of those crew members who had been killed in the attack. It was subsequent to a similar request by another judge (AP, 2007). It is thus said to have been operated by the leader of this group: Osama Bin Laden. The principal basis of this attack was revenge by the terrorism group towards the government of the US. As such, the attack was part of the plots developed as millennium attacks in the year 2000. It thus acted as a significant signal towards the American government since it was hit by the reality of terrorism. However, even after the connection of the incident to Al Qaeda was realized, the threat of terrorism that they signified was way underestimated. An investigative report on the attack was completed and released on January 19, 2001 by the Us Navy. It indicated that besides the primary intent of the terrorist group to attack the vessel, there are also a number of loopholes that facilitated the attack. For instance, it was indicated that the commanding officer who was present at Cole at the time of the attack acted in a reasonable manner in commanding his force to take the protection posture after he had assessed the situation that presented itself. This took place at the time when Cole reached Aden for its refueling procedure. However, in spite of this step, the JAGMAN made the conclusion that the commanding officer who was in Cole did not have the required level of intelligence, focused kind of training, the relevant equipment or the appropriate level of security on the scene to provide effective support in order to prevent or deter such kind of a determination in the preplanned attack towards the ship. As a result of this, certain relevant changes were recommended for implementation within the procedures of the US Navy. Meaning of the attack Since this attack was one of the major ones to take place with an aim towards the US government, it was one of the major international terrorism attacks on a facility that was owned by the US. This was after the terrorist attacks that took place with a target towards the Us in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. It was also the deadliest attack to aim at a Navy vessel since the USS stark was attacked by Iraq in 1987. After the USS Cole Bombing The investigations that were conducted after the USS Cole bombing were considered to be one of the largest investigations to be performed by the FBI for a crime that took place outside the United States borders. Immediately after the bombing the president of Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh confirmed that the attacks were as a result of an undertaking, which had been well planned from a long while before it happened. This was supported by the senior personnel within the Navy. They suspected that the attackers had been able to obtain the layout and schedule of the ship. It is because the attack had seemingly been set at a position and time that made it possible to have maximum. A team that was composed of agents from the FBI went to Aden a day after the bombing took place. They were soon followed by the CIA and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Initially, there had been friction between the investigators from Yemen and those from the US. However, they were both able to cooperate and identify the leader of the attack in a successful manner. They found him to be Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who acted as the chief for al-Qaeda during the operations that took place within the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, he is the suspect associated with the bombings that took place in 1998 towards the Kenyan and Tanzanian US embassies. He is also suspected of being involved in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was arrested in the year 2002 and is currently being held in the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. What happened to the bombers afterwards? Different responses were given to the injured sailors and the suspected accomplishers of the attack. The 39 sailors who had been injured were treated at the United States Armys Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, which is located close to Ramsteion in Germany. They were later taken back to the United States. Several months after the attack, there was no conclusive evidence about the involvement of al Qaeda in the attack. However, the staff that was involvement in the commission after the September 11 attack found that the direction of bombing by the Al Qaeda group was under investigation although it was becoming increasing clear in November 11 2001.It was an assumption that had not been clearly proven in late November. By December 21 the CIA had already made its preliminary judgment that it was Al Qaeda group that appeared to have been part of the plan and implementation of the attack. They believed that the attack was supported by the terrorist group without a conclusion that was definitive in any way. The attack which was considered to be an asymmetric warfare attack had been organized, directed and executed by the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. A video recruited by the Al Qaeda group was done in June 2001. It featured Osama Bin Laden who appeared to be proud of the attack and made promises of similar attacks in the future (CBS, 2001). In this regard, the bombing was considered great victory for the Camps headed by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. They had newly filled recruits, and the arrival of contributors from the Gulf State. Eventually, it became clear that bin Laden had been directly linked to the attacks. He had chosen his target and location in a precise manner and provided the required financial aid to those who were willing to take part in the operations. Among these people was Fahd al Quso, who was given the task of filming the events during the attack. Together with another operative: Jamal al Badawi, he was arrested by the authorities from Yemen during the first few weeks after the Cole attack (Cratty, 2008). The relevant investigative authorities were also able to identify the suicide bombers. They were mainly nationals from Yemen and were revealed to be Abdullah al-Misawa and Ibrahim al-Thawr. In totality, six men were arrested and convicted of giving help and planning the bombing of USS Cole. In total, six men were arrested and charged with aiding and planning the USS Cole bombing. Abu Ali al-Harithi who was the suspected mastermind, was killed in a missile attack in November (YPCUCB, 2003). However, all the individuals who had been charged in Yemen in association to the terrorist attack on USS Cole have since escaped of has been freed from prison as at May 2008. This is an signal that all of the efforts made by the US to deal with the operatives of USS Cole have been frustrated (Whitlock, 2008). Both the administrations headed by Bush and Clinton have been under immense criticism owing to their lack of ability to respond in a military way in response to the attack on USS code before the incidence that took place on September 11 2001. According to a report that was released following the latter attack, Osama bin Laden had been shown to frequently complain about the lack of step taken by United State government to retaliate after the Cole attack. As indicated by this statement, bin laden had expected the United States government to attack. He claimed that if this was not done, then he would launch a greater attack. The US secretary for state affairs: Rice revealed that the decision not to attack the members of the al Qaeda group militarily in response to the Cole bombing had been made by Bush. According to her, he stated categorically that he did not wish to react to the attacks one at a time since he had become tired of the swatting flies. Instead, the Bush administration was beginning to work on a strategy to eliminate the Al Qaeda. This was later realized through the invasion of the US military into Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks and the subsequent killing of Osama bin Laden (Barton, 2002). The bombing attack on the Cole provided an extremely new impact and view on America in regard to the threat posed by extremisms in the Islamic faith. The officials in the US later recommended that it was important to place counterterrorism as the center role within the agenda of the secretary of Defense. It was also suggested that an assistant secretary be appointed so as to implement the required strategies for counterterrorism. However, most of these strategies were not implemented until the September 11 attacks, which took place less than a year after the USS Cole attack. This was therefore too soon for the relevant changes related to counterterrorism to have been effected. On the other hand, the bombing played a significant role in increasing the popularity that the Al Qaeda group had among other movements by Jihadists. According to the commission report that was released after the September 11 attacks, the Al Qaeda group made use of images acquired from the attack to solicit for support and increase the number of recruits. The current state of USS Cole The USS Cole that was damaged during the bombing attack was taken back to the United States on 31 October 2000. It was transported by the S. S Blue Marlin, which is a heavy lift ship from Norway. Conclusion The attack of the Cole Navy ship by the Al Qaeda terrorist group acted as a key eye opener for the Us government. This is because it was subsequent to the attack that the reality of terrorism and its effects dawned on them. As a result, the American Navy had to reconsider most of their rules of engagement following the direct attack on them. The rules of engagement made by the destroyer that had been approved by the Pentagon prevented its guard from firing towards the little boat. This is because they did not know that it had been loaded with explosives. It is despite the fact that it was coming nearer to the Cole without obtaining permission from its captain or another authorized officer first (Robinson, 2000). In general, the attack on the USS Cole played a vital function in the role of training by the Navy towards control of damage. This begins in the boot camp and focuses on the preparation of recruits for the challenges of damage control, which they are likely to face while on fleet. References Associated Press (AP). (2007). Judge: Sudan Responsible for USS Cole attack. NBCNews Barton, G. ( 2002). "A Strategys Cautious Evolution: Before Sept. 11, the Bush Anti-Terror Effort Was Mostly Ambition". Washington Post. CBS. (2001). A Claim For The Cole – Bin Laden Recruitment Tape Boasts The Bombing Of The USS Cole. 20 June. Jeremy Lewis. (2007). "International Terrorism and Response: notes". Huntingdon College. Piszkiewicz, Dennis (2003). Terrorisms war with America: a history. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Robinson, Stephen. (2000). "Bombed US warship was defended by sailors with unloaded guns". The Daily Telegraph. London: Sunday Telegraph. Whitaker, B. (2003). "Bomb type and tactics point to al-Qaida". The Guardian, London: Guardian Media Group. Whitlock, C. (2008). Probe of USS Cole bombing unravels. Washington post, May 4. "Yemeni pair charged in USS Cole bombing (YPCUCB)". (2003). CNN. 15 May 2003. Read More