Admiral Defends Cole Commander

W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 7, 2001 -- The admiral overseeing a Navyinvestigation into the actions of the captain and crew of theU.S. destroyer Cole when it was bombed in Yemen harbor hasrecommended that no one should be punished despite securitylapses on the ship, defense officials said today.

But they stressed that the recommendation of Adm. RobertNatter, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, could be overturned bythe chief of naval operations and navy secretary before theinvestigation report is released within days.

Rejecting Earlier ReportThe officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reutersthat Natter rejected the findings of a lower-ranking officerthat the apparent Oct. 12 suicide bombing from a small boatmight have been prevented or minimized.

Seventeen U.S. sailors died in the attack — apparentlycarried out by anti-Western guerrillas — when the USS Cole wasripped open by a blast from an explosives-laden small boat thatdrew up next to the hull of the warship as it took on fuel inmid-harbor.

The lower-ranking officer’s report concluded that theship’s captain and crew failed to follow the Cole’s ownsecurity procedures on the morning of the attack.

At the time of the blast, the Cole was in what is known as“Threat Condition Bravo,” which requires guards on deck to keepsmall boats away and mount a close watch for possible attacksduring a refueling operation.

Navy and Pentagon officials have praised Cmdr. KirkLippold, the ship’s captain, and some 300 other crew membersfor saving the ship from sinking.

Natter sent the report on the investigation of actionsaboard the ship from Atlantic Fleet headquarters in Norfolk,Virginia, in recent days to Chief of Naval Operations Adm.Vernon Clark and Navy Secretary Richard Danzig at thePentagon.

‘Very, Very Difficult’

“This is very, very difficult,” one of the defenseofficials said today, confirming Natter’s recommendation,which was first reported by the Baltimore Sun.

“That is why the Navy justice system is in the hands ofline officers and not in the hands of lawyers and judges,especially in this case,” one official said. “They [lineofficers] have been there and can ask: Were the actions they[the Cole’s captain and crew] took that day, however imperfect,in the normal course of good work?”

“If the performance didn’t show a lack of devotion to dutyeven if it wasn’t perfect — and wouldn’t have mattered anyway — does it warrant punishment?,” the official added.

Cohen Plans New, Broader ReviewA senior defense official told Reuters on Saturday thatDefense Secretary William Cohen planned to order a new Pentagonreview to determine if U.S. commanders in the Gulf regionshould be held accountable for any security lapses in thebombing of the Cole.

The separate Navy investigation was limited to the actionsaboard the Cole at the time of the blast, and the officialstressed Cohen had not reached any conclusion on accountabilityin the attack.

Cohen will release the results of a separate, completeddepartment probe this week that he ordered to determine ifsecurity should be tightened for U.S. forces moving around theglobe.

Tighter Military Security Worldwide

That probe by a commission headed by retired Navy Adm.Harold Gehman and retired Army Gen. William Crouch found thatthere were key U.S. security shortcomings in the Gulf regionbefore the attack and will call for improvements in the regionand worldwide.

But “He [Cohen] is going to find a way to ask the questionif there is accountability in the chain of command beyond theship,” the official told Reuters on Saturday, adding that heexpected an announcement by Cohen when the report on newsecurity measures for American forces in transit is released.

Navy officials have questioned whether U.S. intelligencecould have provided a specific threat warning on Aden, whichwould have prompted the Cole to go to a higher state of alertthan “Threat Condition Bravo” — the second highest of fouralert levels — as it entered the harbor.

The senior defense official told Reuters on Saturday thatCohen felt that perhaps a further review of the separatePentagon commission report could determine whether any securityblame should rest on the chain of command in the Gulf,including Navy and intelligence officers.

Yemeni and U.S. officials suspect that hundreds of poundsof explosives were used in the attack.

The United States has said exiled Saudi dissident Osama binLaden, whom it accuses of masterminding attacks on two U.S.embassies in Africa in 1998, may have been behind the bombing.He has denied responsibility.