Pentagon panel urges tighter overseas security for U.S. military

Independent commission that studied Cole bombing finds lapses, officials say

In this story: Navy probe faulted Cole captain, crew Ship being repaired RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An independent Pentagon commission that investigated the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen and found security lapses will recommend improved overseas protective measures for U.S. military ships, planes and personnel, Pentagon officials told CNN on Tuesday.

The proposals would focus on places, such as the Persian Gulf, where the threat of terrorism is high.

MESSAGE BOARD USS Cole attack

The officials say Defense Secretary William Cohen has been briefed on the study, submitted last month by retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman and retired Army Gen. William Crouch, who head the commission. The panel will release its findings and security recommendations next week, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified.

An apparent suicide bombing killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 39 others as the Cole, a destroyer, was refueling in Aden harbor on October 12. Cohen then ordered Gehman and Crouch to hunt for problems in security and recommend how U.S. forces in transit around the world could be better protected.

The Pentagon officials say the commission's recommendations will focus on improving procedures to eliminate confusion over such issues as who is responsible for providing security when U.S. warships stop in ports.

"There was a determination that overall security for our forces in the Gulf could be tighter -- including better coordination between U.S. embassies and military leaders," a Pentagon official told the Reuters news service.

Specifically, one senior defense official told The New York Times there was a breakdown in communication between embassies and the military commanders of the U.S. Central Command, the Tampa, Florida-based military headquarters for the Gulf.

He and other officials said that despite steps to tighten security in the Gulf after the deadly truck bombing of a U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996, military officials were not paying enough attention to the safety of troops.

They stressed, however, that the report on the Cole does not point blame at any specific U.S. officials for the attack itself and that it is unlikely the bombing could have been avoided short of not refueling in Yemen. Crouch has said the commission's goal was to improve security for U.S. forces in the region, not assign blame.

A separate Navy investigation, which focused on actions aboard the Cole itself before the bombing, has concluded that the ship's captain and crew failed to follow the Cole's own security procedures on the morning of the attack.

But the Navy has not yet determined whether it will punish Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, the Cole's captain, or any crew members.

Navy officials also have questioned whether U.S. intelligence could have provided any specific threat warning on Aden and allowed the Cole to go to a higher state of alert than "Threat Condition Bravo" -- the second-highest of four alert levels -- as it entered the harbor.

The Cole was ripped open by a blast originating from a small boat that was allowed to come right next to the hull of the warship as it took on fuel in mid-harbor. Yemeni and U.S. officials suspect that hundreds of pounds of explosives were used in the attack.

The Cole has since been transported back to Pascagoula, Mississippi, on the back of a Norwegian transport ship and will undergo a yearlong repair job costing an estimated $170 million.

A week after the Cole bombing, the general who arranged for U.S. warships to refuel in Yemen vigorously defended his decision during questioning by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, who retired as regional U.S. commander for the Middle East shortly before the attack, said Aden was selected in 1997 as the best option from a list of insecure places to fuel ships in one of the region's most strategic points.

"The threat conditions in Aden were better than elsewhere," Zinni testified.

He said the United States had been helping the Yemen government fight "terrorist" groups and was building better relations with the strategically placed former Soviet ally.

He said that while there had been specific security threats at almost every other port in the region used by U.S. ships, that had not occurred with Aden.

CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and Reuters contributed to this report.

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U.S. State Department, Response to Terrorism
Counter-Terrorism - Terrorism and Security Information

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