Cohen: No Negligence in Cole Bombing

Friday, January 19th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Defense Secretary William Cohen closed out the USS Cole bombing investigation Friday by declaring that no one in the military chain of command should be accused of negligence, but all could be faulted for inadequate attention to terrorist threats.

``We were not complacent, but the terrorists found new opportunities before we found new protections,'' Cohen told a Pentagon news conference.

The Navy released its final investigation report on the case Friday. As previously reported, Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, has concluded that no one aboard the Cole should be disciplined.

Cohen believes the entire military chain of command can be faulted for not paying more attention to the vulnerability of U.S. ships in areas where the terrorist threat is high.

``We didn't do all that needed to be done,'' he said. ``We have learned from this experience that we need to be more vigorous.''

At the same time, Cohen has concluded that no individuals should be punished.

The Cole was bombed by suicide terrorists in a small boat while the destroyer was refueling in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12. The attack killed 17 sailors and nearly sunk the $1 billion ship.

``All of us in the whole chain of command have to do a better job and we had that obligation to all of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, coast guardsmen and their families, and a better job has to be done,'' Cohen said Friday on NBC's ``Today'' show.

Cohen said he agrees with the findings of an independent panel he established to assess ways in which the Defense Department, in coordination with other government agencies, can provide better protection for U.S. forces in transit around the world. The panel cited, among other things, a need for better intelligence collection on terrorist threats.

In his NBC interview, Cohen said the Cole bombing exposed a seam in U.S. security precautions.

``There has not been sufficient attention devoted to those ships that are in transit, about to come into a port or while they're in port,'' he said. ``You have a number of seams'' in security. ``It's our job to make sure that we appreciate the seams faster than the terrorists do. There will always be terrorists looking for weaknesses.''

Cohen wanted to close the Cole case before he left office. Friday was his final full day as defense secretary. The job of implementing the recommended improvements in security will fall to Cohen's successor, Defense Secretary-designate Donald Rumsfeld.

Because the Cole's captain, Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, did not carry out all of approximately 60 planned actions to ensure the ship's protection while refueling in Aden harbor, some believed he would be punished and his career ruined. Instead, Clark supported a determination that Lippold had done what could have been reasonably expected under the circumstances and that he was not given necessary information about the terrorist threat in Aden, a major port at the southern tip of the Saudi peninsula.

Clark also believes that even with security measures in place as prescribed, the attack would not have been prevented, officials said.

The nature of the attack was unprecedented, although the threat was not unimaginable. The military's written guidelines on terror threats states explicitly that harbor craft of the sort that approached the Cole ``require special concern because they can serve as an ideal platform for terrorists.'' The guidelines say fire hoses should be ready for emergency use and personnel be briefed on using them for repelling boarders, small boats and ultralight aircraft.

Lippold made a decision on his own not to prepare for the use of fire hoses, another senior defense official said, also speaking anonymously. Lippold apparently believed that fire hoses would not have strengthened the ship's defenses.

Some crew members said after the bombing that they saw the small boat approach the Cole and assumed it was yet another harbor craft providing trash disposal and other services. No one on the Cole challenged the craft as it approached.

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Defense Secretary William Cohen closed out the USS Cole bombing investigation Friday by declaring that no one in the military chain of command should be accused of negligence, but all could be faulted for inadequate attention to terrorist threats.

``We were not complacent, but the terrorists found new opportunities before we found new protections,'' Cohen told a Pentagon news conference.

The Navy released its final investigation report on the case Friday. As previously reported, Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, has concluded that no one aboard the Cole should be disciplined.

Cohen believes the entire military chain of command can be faulted for not paying more attention to the vulnerability of U.S. ships in areas where the terrorist threat is high.

``We didn't do all that needed to be done,'' he said. ``We have learned from this experience that we need to be more vigorous.''

At the same time, Cohen has concluded that no individuals should be punished.

The Cole was bombed by suicide terrorists in a small boat while the destroyer was refueling in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12. The attack killed 17 sailors and nearly sunk the $1 billion ship.

``All of us in the whole chain of command have to do a better job and we had that obligation to all of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, coast guardsmen and their families, and a better job has to be done,'' Cohen said Friday on NBC's ``Today'' show.

Cohen said he agrees with the findings of an independent panel he established to assess ways in which the Defense Department, in coordination with other government agencies, can provide better protection for U.S. forces in transit around the world. The panel cited, among other things, a need for better intelligence collection on terrorist threats.

In his NBC interview, Cohen said the Cole bombing exposed a seam in U.S. security precautions.

``There has not been sufficient attention devoted to those ships that are in transit, about to come into a port or while they're in port,'' he said. ``You have a number of seams'' in security. ``It's our job to make sure that we appreciate the seams faster than the terrorists do. There will always be terrorists looking for weaknesses.''

Cohen wanted to close the Cole case before he left office. Friday was his final full day as defense secretary. The job of implementing the recommended improvements in security will fall to Cohen's successor, Defense Secretary-designate Donald Rumsfeld.

Because the Cole's captain, Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, did not carry out all of approximately 60 planned actions to ensure the ship's protection while refueling in Aden harbor, some believed he would be punished and his career ruined. Instead, Clark supported a determination that Lippold had done what could have been reasonably expected under the circumstances and that he was not given necessary information about the terrorist threat in Aden, a major port at the southern tip of the Saudi peninsula.

Clark also believes that even with security measures in place as prescribed, the attack would not have been prevented, officials said.

The nature of the attack was unprecedented, although the threat was not unimaginable. The military's written guidelines on terror threats states explicitly that harbor craft of the sort that approached the Cole ``require special concern because they can serve as an ideal platform for terrorists.'' The guidelines say fire hoses should be ready for emergency use and personnel be briefed on using them for repelling boarders, small boats and ultralight aircraft.

Lippold made a decision on his own not to prepare for the use of fire hoses, another senior defense official said, also speaking anonymously. Lippold apparently believed that fire hoses would not have strengthened the ship's defenses.

Some crew members said after the bombing that they saw the small boat approach the Cole and assumed it was yet another harbor craft providing trash disposal and other services. No one on the Cole challenged the craft as it approached.