Navy Decides Against Cole Penalty

Tuesday, January 9th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” The Navy has decided that neither the captain nor crew of the USS Cole should be punished for failing to follow all prescribed security precautions before the fatal Oct. 12 terrorist attack, a senior defense official said.

Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations and final arbiter in the matter, has decided to endorse the determination made last week by Adm. Robert Natter, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, that no punishment is deserved, said the defense official, who is close to the deliberations and who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.

It remains possible that others, higher in rank than the Cole's captain, could be held accountable. Defense Secretary William Cohen plans to order an accountability review, separate from the Navy's internal investigation, that would seek to determine whether military officers responsible for U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf area can be faulted for shortcomings such as inadequate intelligence warnings of threats from terrorists, officials said.

Clark had not submitted his written endorsement Monday afternoon but was expected to soon, the official said Monday.

The Navy planned to announce the result of its investigation of the Cole bombing this week. The probe sought to determine circumstances of the attack and what ``force protection,'' or preventive measures, the captain ordered the crew to take.

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 on a refueling stop in Yemen's Aden harbor, some believed he would be punished and his career ruined. Instead, Clark supported Natter's 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 Arabian peninsula.

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

As the Cole took on fuel in Aden harbor, a small boat sidled up to the 505-foot destroyer. Explosives aboard the boat were detonated and ripped a hole 40 feet high by 40 feet wide in the Cole, damaging it so severely it almost sank. Senior Navy officials, including Natter, praised Lippold and the crew for having acted heroically to save the ship.

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.

On his own Lippold decided not to prepare for using fire hoses, another senior defense official said, also speaking anonymously. Lippold apparently believed that fire hoses would not strengthen 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.

The Navy officer who conducted the Cole investigation, whose name has not been disclosed, found that the attack might have been prevented or minimized if Lippold had ensured that all preventive actions were taken. But Natter disagreed, and Clark endorsed Natter's view, the official said.

Clark has determined that no negative report related to the Cole attack should be placed in Lippold's personnel file, the official said.

In addition to the Navy probe, Cohen established a special commission, headed by a retired Navy admiral and a retired Army general, to find what force protection lessons could be learned from the Cole bombing.

The commission's report, expected to be released Tuesday, concludes that the U.S. government needs to do more to guard against terrorist attacks on U.S. military forces transiting abroad â€” not just ships like the Cole but also aircraft that refuel in remote places. Officials familiar with the report said it asserts the view that terrorism is a long-term threat that deserves more attention, including more resources for intelligence warnings. The officials discussed the commission's finding on condition of anonymity.

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On the Net: Cole site: http://www.spear.navy.mil/ships/ddg67/

Navy site: http://www.hq.navy.mil/natops/