On October 12, 2000, at 11:18 Yemeni time a boat believed by Sailors to be a garbage service boat pulled alongside the USS Cole, those aboard waving to members of the crew of the Cole, as it was being refueled in Aden.
The Al-Qaeda of Yemen terrorists aboard detonated a shape charge which killed 17 and injured 39 Sailors who had lined up for lunch inside.
Dangerous Rules of Engagement:
Petty Officer John Washak stated, in accordance with ROE, he was ordered by Senior Personnel, to point his machine gun away from a Second approaching boat. "With blood still on my face," he related: "That's the rules of engagement: no shooting unless we're shot at." He added, "In the military, it's like we're trained to hesitate now. If somebody had seen something wrong and shot, he probably would have been court-martialed." The Rules of Engagement under the Commander in Chief at the time did indeed make the US Military targets rather than allow self-preservation and self-defense.
Bill Clinton vowed: "We will find out who was responsible and hold them accountable." But he did nothing more than send in an FBI team whose plane was held at gunpoint by Yemeni Special Forces and under constant threat from local islamists as well as Yemeni Forces, including using an SA-7 anti-aircraft missile system to lock onto the helicopter they were on.
On March 14, 2007, Federal Judge Robert Doumar found that Al-Qaeda had acted with the material support of the government of The Sudan and ordered on July 25, 2007 the Sudanese Government to pay $8 million in damages to the families of the Sailors killed.
Though all convicted of involvement have since been released by Yemeni officials or have escaped, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent, currently held (since 2006) at Gitmo is being brought up on charges of "organizing and directing" the attack. While the Department of Defense has not yet approved the charges, the Pentagon has indicated it will seek the death penalty if the case goes forward.
Al-Nashiri has also been convicted and sentenced to death for the terrorist attack on the USS Cole by a Yemeni court on September 29, 2004. His links to terrorism are vast. His brother was a Suicide Bomber in the attack on the US Embassy in Kenya in 1998. He met with bin Ladin in 1996 and 1997 in Afghanistan and assisted in attaining Yemeni passports for other terrorists. It is believed he became a full fledged member of AQ, reporting directly to OBL in 1998.
Al-Nashiri, along with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are two of the three that the CIA used "waterboarding" on to produce intelligence of other attacks and information. He was captured in the United Arab Emirates in November 2002 and has invoked the AQ directives to make allegations of torture to utilize ACLU tenets to escape justice for his criminal terrorist actions. The third terrorist on which the technique was used was Abu Zubaydeh, another close associate of OBL and chief of recruiting and operations, also deeply involved in the 9/11 attacks, captured in Pakistan on March 28, 2002.
Also convicted and sentenced to death by the Yemeni court that day was Jamal al-Badwi who escaped from Yemeni jail on February 3, 2006 along with 12 other Al Qaeda terrorist and 4 involvedOn in the incident. Last October al-Badwi surrendered to Yemeni authorities and was released by them on his "promise to not" engage in Al-Qaeda or terrorist activities any more.
The attack was preceded by a similar attempt on the USS The Sullivans on January 3, 2000 at the same Port of Aden, which failed when the boat began to sink from being overladen.
Additionally, the Tamil Tigers used the same tactic to sink a Sri Lankan vessel in June 2000 which points to a close connection between the ''rebel" terrorist organization and Al-Qaeda.
FROM USS Cole Website (official), the Memorial (see that site for pics):
Rest In Peace My Brothers: Kenneth E Clodfelter
Richard D Costelow
Lakeina M Francis
Timothy Lee Gauna
Cherone Louis Gunn
James R McDaniels
Marc Ian Nieto
Ronald Scott Owens
Lakiba Nicole Palmer
Joshua L Parlett
Patrick Howard Roy
Kevin Shawn Rux
Ronchester M Santiago
Timothy L Saunders
Gary Swenchonis
Andrew Triplett
Craig B Wibberley
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