[CTRL] Fwd: Yemen admits attack was planned

Aleisha Saba Mon, 16 Oct 2000 07:56:36 -0700

Marxist Yemens alleged suspects list...KGB Putin and Barak? Cui Bono?

Yemen admits attack was planned
An unidentified sailor, injured in the attack on the USS Cole, is
greeted by a family member on the tarmac at the Norfolk Naval Station in
Norfolk, Va. on Sunday.
NBC's Pat Dawson in Yemen reports that the destroyer sat helplessly for
hours Sunday after a collapsed bulkhead prompted another scramble on
board.
Divers continue effort to retrieve bodies from USS Cole
� � MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS� � ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 16 �
�Yemen said on Monday the explosion that crippled a U.S. Navy warship
and killed 17 American sailors was a "planned criminal act," as salvage
operations on the stricken vessel continued in the port of Aden.��
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October 15, 2000
For families of dead and missing sailors aboard the USS Cole, the
grieving process has already begun, NBC News' Joe John reports.
� � � �YEMEN'S OFFICIAL Saba news agency said President Ali
Abdullah Saleh told General Tommy Franks, the commander-in-chief of U.S.
Central Command, that "preliminary results and important evidence
reached by security forces in Yemen...indicate that it [the explosion]
was a planned criminal act."
� � � �The agency said the president expressed "his regret and
strong condemnation for this shameful act which was aimed at harming the
relations of friendship and cooperation between Yemen and the United
States." ��Attack in YemenComplete coverage�Latest News
�Latest on Mideast
�U.S. warned of Aden risks
�Survivors, relatives mourn
�Yemen's history of conflict
�Newsweek slideshow: U.S. under attack
�Join our discussion
�USS Cole state of the art
Saleh had initially said the explosion was not a deliberate act.U.S.
Defense Secretary William Cohen said on Sunday there was little doubt
the incident was a terrorist attack. He said the United States was no
closer to determining who carried out the suicide attack against the USS
Cole but that Saudi exile Osama bin Laden was among those investigated.
� � � �At least two Muslim groups have said they were
responsible for the bombing and while Cohen said investigators take all
claims seriously, it was "premature to speculate."
� � � �He said bin Laden, the exiled Saudi financier wanted by
the United States for allegedly masterminding the 1998 bombings of U.S.
embassies in East Africa, could be responsible.
� � � �Saleh said Yemen and the United States would continue to
cooperate to uncover further information and track down those behind the
attack, Saba reported.
� � � �Yemen has arrested dozens of suspects for questioning in
connection with the incident.
� � � �
SALVAGE OPERATIONS CONTINUE
� � � �U.S. Navy divers were trying to retrieve bodies from the
mangled wreck of the USS Cole in Aden's port on Monday as plans were
made to take the warship to the United States for repairs, U.S.
officials said. �� A list of those killed on the USS
Cole�Electronics Technician Richard Costelow Morrisville, Pa.
�Signalman Seaman Recruit Cherone Louis Gunn Rex, Ga.
�Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels Norfolk, Va
�Seaman Recruit Lakiba Nicole Palmer San Diego
�Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Lamont Saunders Ringgold, Va
�Ensign Andrew Triplett Macon, Miss.
�Seaman Apprentice Craig Bryan Wibberley Williamsport, Md
�Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter,
Mechanicsville, Va.
�Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, Woodleaf,
N.C.
�Information Systems Technician Seaman Timothy Lee Gauna, Rice, Texas
�Engineman 2nd Class Marc Ian Nieto, Fond du Lac, Wis.
�Electronics Warfare Technician 3rd Class Ronald Scott Owens, Vero
Beach, Fla.
�Engineman Fireman Joshua Langdon Parlett, Churchville, Md.
�Fireman Apprentice Patrick Howard Roy, Keedsyville, Md.
�Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class Kevin Shawn Rux, Portland,
N.D.
�Mess Management Specialist 3rd Class Ronchester Mananga Santiago,
Kingsville, Texas
�Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Rockport, Texas
US Navy
� � � �Specialist teams have been brought into the poor Arab
state to salvage the destroyer, which lies stricken in the southern
Yemeni port with a gaping hole in its side.
� � � �"The divers are in the water," said one U.S. defense
official. "There are groups working to get rid of the twisted metal and
carry out remains recovery."
� � � �The divers are among about 100 U.S. personnel sent to
Yemen to conduct the investigation and salvage operation, codenamed
Determined Response, and which includes Federal Bureau of Investigation
agents and a marine security platoon.
� � � �U.S. Navy officials have said a small boat in a group
helping to moor the Cole for refueling had been laden with explosives
and blew up alongside the ship, one of the world's most sophisticated
guided missile destroyers.
� � � �Witnesses described two men aboard the boat standing to
attention just before it exploded.
� � � �The blast at the waterline was close to the dining area
for senior enlisted officers. Most hands were busy finishing the
docking. A few minutes later, however, and the mess area would have
started to fill.
� � � �Immediately after the explosion, the ship began to fill
with oily water from the 40-foot deep harbor.
� � � �The impact wrenched open hatches and buckled parts of the
deck on the 4-year-old destroyer, whose modern construction may have
helped it say afloat. Power was lost and generators were used to pump
out water and keep the Cole afloat.
� � � �A U.S. defense official said talks were now under way
with a Norwegian firm to transport the 9,100-ton warship back to the
United States for repairs aboard a heavy-lift vessel, which has capacity
to carry a 30,000-ton ship. The unloaded Cole is 8,300 tons.
� � � �Officials have said a patch-up job was unlikely.
� � � �Five bodies of sailors have been retrieved, while two
victims are in view in the tangled metal but have so far been out of
reach, officials said. Ten sailors are missing and are presumed dead.
� � � �Conditions improved slightly Monday for sailors still
aboard the stricken warship.
� � � �Damaged electricity facilities were restored to the point
where the air conditioning could be turned on for the crew, said Lt.
Terrence Dudley, spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet. Temperatures have
been in the 90s in Aden, and the crew has been without air conditioning
since the explosion on Thursday.
� � � �Other officials said Cole sailors were spending some of
their time resting aboard two other Navy ships. The crew worked through
Saturday night to control flooding after another bulkhead collapsed.
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� � � �
DEADLIEST ATTACK SINCE 1996
� � � �There has been no credible claim of responsibility for
the attack, which ranks as the deadliest terrorist attack on the U.S.
military since the bombing of an Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia in
1996 that killed 19.
� � � �U.S. officials have suspended naval stops in Aden.
� � � �In Virginia, doctors said some the injured would soon be
released to go home. On Sunday, 33 of the injured were flown from a U.S.
military hospital in Germany where they received initial care to the
Cole's home port, Virginia's Norfolk Naval Station. Three others
remained in Germany, too injured to travel yet.
� � � � U.S. diplomats have insisted the Yemeni government is
not suspected of any terrorists links. But security has been a key issue
regarding Aden, the home base for an Islamic militant group founded by
the brother of Afghan-based terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden -
accused of links to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania that killed 224 people.
� � � �Afghanistan's Taliban rulers denied bin Laden was
involved, according to a Taliban statement published Monday in
Pakistan's Urdu-language newspaper Jang. The Taliban said "Osama cannot
carry out such activities from Afghan territory."
� � � �Bin Laden has been living in Afghanistan since 1996 when
he fled Sudan. The Taliban have refused to hand him over to the United
States.
��Wanted: Osama bin Laden MSNBC Interactive�Click here for a look
at some of Osama bin Laden's activities around the world
� � � �Bin Laden has criticized Yemen for allowing U.S. ships to
refuel at Aden.
� � � �In Washington, defense officials have said a source in
the Middle East had warned Washington of a possible attack on a ship
before Thursday's bombing, but that the warning was too vague to raise
an immediate alarm.
� � � �The United States keeps a small port-based security
contingent in Aden, but relies mostly on Yemeni authorities. Washington
is eager to strengthen relations with Yemen as another foothold in the
Arab world.
� � � �U.S. officials dismissed questions that security risks
were overshadowed by political objectives when warships began refueling
in Aden in June 1999. About 25 Navy vessels have used the port.

Source: Jane's Information Group
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� � � �� 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
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�Barak, Arafat meet at in Egypt�Yemen admits attack was planned�A
Cole sailor tries to deal with death�Prayers open Million Family
March�U.S. murder rate lowest since 1966�MSNBC Cover Page
�
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A. Saba
Dare To Call It Conspiracy

A. Saba
Dare To Call It Conspiracy

http://www.msnbc.com/news/475547.asp

[CTRL] Fwd: Yemen admits attack was planned

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