-Caveat Lector-
October 26, 2000
Pentagon analyst resigns over ignored warnings
By Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES
An analyst at the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency resigned
in protest after the attack on the USS Cole because his warnings
of pending terrorist acts in the Persian Gulf region went
unheeded.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday, Sen.
Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican, read portions of the letter of
resignation. The letter is now in the hands of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, whose staff has spent six hours
interviewing the unnamed analyst.
Mr. Roberts quoted the letter as saying the analyst had
"significant analytical differences" with his superiors over a
DIA terrorist threat assessment produced in June.
"He indicates his analysis could have played 'a critical role in
DIA's ability to predict and warn of a potential terrorist attack
against U.S. interests,' " said Mr. Roberts. "And [he] goes
further to say he is 'very troubled by the many indicators
contained in the analysis that suggest two or three other major
acts of [terrorism] could potentially occur in the coming weeks
or months.' "
The DIA agent's assessment was at least the second warning of
terror attacks in the region that circulated inside the
administration, but did not help the Cole's crew avoid the
terrorist suicide bombing that killed 17 sailors and injured 39.
Senators questioned administration witnesses about a report in
The Washington Times yesterday that said the National Security
Agency issued a top-secret report hours after the Cole was
attacked Oct. 12.
The report said terrorists were planning and organizing attacks
on U.S. interests in the Gulf.
Walter Slocombe, undersecretary of defense for policy, confirmed
the message's existence but took issued with how The Times
characterized it.
"I have seen the messages in question, and I think it is highly
questionable whether those messages constitute what The
Washington Times story says they constitute, in terms of
specificity," Mr. Slocombe said.
Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. Gulf forces, said if he
had such a message he would have ordered force-protection
measures.
"If that message contained those specific factors that indicated
not only intent, but that there was an attack imminent, yes,
senator, we would have taken immediate action," said Gen.
Franks.
Appearing later before the House Armed Services Committee, Mr.
Slocombe said there were two intelligence reports regarding
terrorist activities but that "neither report said that there was
an imminent attack on an American ship in Yemen or anyplace
else."
One of the reports was issued about 12 hours before the explosion
and a second report, disclosed in The Times, was sent after the
blast, Mr. Slocombe said.
The second report "doesn't say anything about Yemen," Mr.
Slocombe said.
Rep. Curt Weldon, Pennsylvania Republican, wondered why such
information was not sent to commanders in time to warn the Cole.
"The question we have to ask is, are our current systems
applicable to give us adequate warning that something may be
about to occur?" said Mr. Weldon. "I'm convinced we don't have
those tools."
The DIA analyst worked in the Office of Counterterrorism
Analysis. He was responsible for the Gulf region, including
Yemen, where the destroyer Cole was attacked by two suicide
bombers in a small rubber boat.
His resignation letter was submitted two days later to Vice Adm.
Thomas Wilson, DIA director.
The committee later conducted closed-door hearings to examine
whether the analyst's concerns should have been or were passed
along to military commanders.
The Senate Armed Services panel started the hearings last week,
examining why Central Command picked the Yemen port of Aden to
refuel the Cole and 24 others ships, starting in March 1999.
The State Department calls Yemen a "safe haven" for terrorist
groups who regularly infiltrate the country's porous borders.
Senators also expressed displeasure with the Pentagon for an
erroneous bombing timeline. The Navy first said the Cole was
attacked by a boat whose two occupants had helped the ship moor
to an in-harbor refueling island.
After briefing that version to the committee last Thursday, the
next day the Navy changed the chronology. It said that, in fact,
the Cole was already moored and in the process of refueling when
the terrorists approached.
The change matters because the revised timeline raises questions
on what the Cole's commanding officer did to protect the ship
while tied up and taking on fuel.
"I make no apologies for the fact that we came up here and gave
the best information we had at the time we had it and said that
what we were saying was subject to review as more information
became available," Mr. Slocombe said.
The committee, whose members have been pressed by relatives of
the dead and injured sailors for more facts, is trying to
determine whether the Cole's captain followed a prescribed Force
Protection Plan while in Yemen.
Committee Chairman John W. Warner, Virginia Republican, has said
the Cole did not deploy small guard boats.
Mr. Warner also expressed concern about a statement made to the
committee last week by retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, Gen.
Franks' predecessor at Central Command.
Gen. Zinni, who made the decision to refuel U.S. ships in Yemen
in March 1999, testified he chose Aden over the African country
of Djibouti because he feared the terrorist threat was greater
there.
Mr. Warner said that the State Department report on global
terrorism does not mention Djibouti and that a public DIA
document calls Yemen a high threat for terrorism and Djibouti a
low threat.
• Bill Gertz contributed to this report.
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