On October 12, 2000, two suicide bombers attacked the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) while the ship was in the Yemeni port of Aden for refueling. Seventeen American sailors were killed in the blast that ripped a huge hole in the side of the warship.
American military and civilian (Federal Bureau of Investigation) investigators deployed to Yemen immediately to investigate. Since the attack occurred in a Yemeni port, Yemen took the lead on the investigation, and publicly welcomed American assistance. While the FBI is arguably the finest law enforcement investigative service in the world, its agents are ill equipped to function in the Byzantine arena that is the Middle East.
Yemeni investigators quickly arrested six suspects, all non-Yemenis; Yemeni President 'Ali 'Abdallah Salih has maintains that this group constitutes the only perpetrators that did not flee the country, and has stated, "No Yemeni, whether politician, a member of an Islamic party or anyone else, has the slightest link with the attack on the USS Cole."
American investigators believe otherwise. They contend that continued (and unimpeded) investigation would establish a link to Saudi expatriate terrorist mastermind Usamah Bin Ladin and to a Yemeni general officer and militant Islamic groups in the country. However, when leads were developed that implicate Yemeni officials or groups, Yemeni cooperation ended and any access to Yemenis has been denied.
Of course, Yemeni officials have some ammunition when they try to steer American investigators away from Yemenis. They can easily claim that since the U.S. Navy's investigation concluded that the "facts do not warrant any punitive action," America was protecting its citizens.
Whether or not the ship's crew is guilty of overlooking security precautions is not the point. The ship should not have been in Aden in the first place - it was serving a political function with no military reason - despite the misgivings of the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Barbara Bodine, an experienced Arab hand with excellent insight into the politics of the region. The United States Central Command has for years wanted to establish a base on the Arabian Peninsula and felt that Yemen was a viable option. For an editorial on how ill advised that strategy was, see Editorial: The USS Cole - A Victim of Bad Policy?
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