U.S. Offers Security Assistance  to Protect Yemeni Ports [Archives:2001/02/Front Page]

Yemen Times has learnt that the United States has recently offered the Yemeni government to provide security assistance in protecting Yemeni ports. The proposal offered by American diplomats and security people will work under a program called National Project for Fighting Smuggling. The USA and European Union will finance the project which is expected to kick off its activities in the first half of this year. The project will include training courses for the Yemeni staff by American experts and providing Yemen with boats with modern communication networks. The main focus of the project is ensuring safety for U.S. warships coming to Aden port for refueling since the Americans recognize the strategic importance of the port which is also less insecure.
Yemeni officials told Yemen Times that the American offer aims at fighting smuggling and putting limits to the accelerating piracy and not permitting fishing in the area.
An independent Pentagon commission, investigated the bombing of the USS Cole in Aden on October 12, 2000 and found security lapses, will release its findings and security recommendations some time this week, CNN reported. The commission will recommend improved overseas protective measures for U.S. military ships, planes and personnel, Pentagon officials told CNN.
The proposals would focus on places, such as the Arab Gulf, where threat of terrorism is high. The head of the commission, retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman and retired Army Gen. William Crouch briefed Defense Secretary, William Cohen on the study last month. Cohen 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 commissions recommendations will focus on improving procedures to eliminate confusion over issues as who is responsible for providing security when U.S. warships stop in ports.
Pentagon officials told Reuters that there was a determination that overall security for U.S. forces in the Gulf could be tighter-including coordination between U.S. embassies and military leaders. The New York Times quoted a senior defense official saying that there was a breakdown 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 added that the military officials were not paying enough attention to the safety of the troops, despite steps to tighten security in the Gulf after the deadly truck bombing of a U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996. However, one week after the bombing, Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zini, regional U.S. commander for the Middle East who retired shortly before the attack defended vigorously his decision of making U.S. warships refuel in Yemen. He said that Aden was selected in 1997 as the best option from a list of insecure places to fuel ships in one of the regions most strategic points. Zini said 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, adding that United States had been helping Yemen fight terrorist groups.
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 commissions goal was to improve security for U.S. forces in the region, not assign blame:, CNN reported.
Another Navy investigation on the Cole bombing concluded that the ships captain and crew failed to follow the Coles own security procedures in the morning of the attack. The Navy has not yet decided whether it will punish the Coles captain Cindr Lippold, or any crew members.
CNN also said that the Navy officials 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 Brave-the second-highest of four alert levels-as it entered the harbor.
The Yemeni and U.S. officials suspect that hundreds of pounds of explosives were used in the attack and its estimated that Coles repair job will take one year and cost $170 million.

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