The bombing of the US destroyer Cole in Aden port in 2000 was a milestone in the fight against terrorism and a turning point in the complex relationship between Yemeni forces and parties of various affiliations and ideological and political backgrounds, both internally and externally.

After the incident in which Saleh refused at the time to hand over the accused involved in it to the United States for trial under the titles of Sovereignty, he demanded the United States, which lost 18 of its soldiers in the incident, with material and logistical support, including training and arming security forces that he established for purposes that later revealed their tasks, including the National Security Agency.

Al-Qaeda, which later announced a branch in Yemen, is still classified by the United States of America as the most dangerous to its national security in the world, announcing the servants of Saleh and the forces of political Islam, the wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, Although the Americans are fully aware of this, nevertheless Although the Americans are fully aware of this, they nevertheless spent generously on those forces affiliated with Saleh, including the anti-terrorist forces, for long-term goals that will be explained here at length.

These forces were provided with naval boats, equipment and special weapons, and trained hundreds of their members in Jordan and the United States for years, but they did not achieve a single victory over the terrorist gangs and their leaders, some of whom were regularly leaving the Republican Palace in Sana'a.  

With the start of the southern peaceful movement in 2007 and the following years, in which it increased its strength and popular support in the southern governorates, Sana’a regime has used these special forces to combat terrorism to reoccupy the south in the name of Ansar al-Sharia, as happened in the war of 1994, when it invaded the south under the name of Ansar al-Sharia .

US Special Forces have expanded the type of training they provide to the Yemeni military, while adding more special operations forces to the training mission there, a defense official familiar with the counter terrorism efforts calls "more complex training" that combines air support with tactical operations on the ground.

 

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to spend 150 million dollar to train and equip Yemeni special forces, specifically so they can fight al-Qaeda, and that includes helicopters, other aircraft and other equipment, more than double the amount of assistance authorized by the US military in 2009. A senior defense official says that the United States and Yemen have exchanged surveillance and intelligence on AQAP activity inside the country.

* Concerns about Yemen has appeared in other cables of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs *

 

In March 2009, White House Counterterrorism Chief John Brennan discussed with The Saudi King Abdullah the possibility of al-Qaeda finding a safe haven in Yemen as in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

The diplomatic statement from Riyadh said Brennan warned that the United States was a feared that Yemen could become another Waziristan (an unstable region in northwest Pakistan), and urged the United States and Saudi Arabia work together to prevent al-Qaeda in Yemen from becoming more dangerous.

 The king replied that the presence of Somalia next to Yemen increases the danger.

 

*Attack on the destroyer Cole

On October 12, in 2000, the US destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67), was en route to the Arabian Gulf, was making a refueling stop in the port of Aden, Yemen, two suicide bombers loaded a Zodiac-type inflatable speedboat laden with bombs and Pulling him to the side of the USS Cole in the middle of the ship, they gave friendly signals to several crew members, and detonated the explosives.

*the attack that has preceded Cole's attack*

 

Investigations revealed that a failed suicide attack attempt on January 3, 2000 to blow up another US Navy ship, USS The Sullivan, and in the accident the terrorist boat sank before the explosive devices could be detonated, however, the boat and explosives were rescued, then the boat was re-equipped, and the Explosives were tested and reuse in the attack on the destroyer USS Cole .

*victims of the attack*

 

The explosion killed 17 sailors, injured 37 others, and tore the ship's hull by forty to sixty feet, almost sinking the ship.

* How did the destroyer crew avoid drowning ?

 

In the aftermath of the explosion, the crew of the USS Cole freed their fellow shipmates trapped by twisting wreckage and reduced flooding that threatened to sink the ship, and swift actions by the crew to isolate damaged electrical systems and contain fuel oil cracks prevented catastrophic fires that would otherwise engulf The ship takes the lives of countless men and women.

The skilled first aid and advanced medical treatment applied by the crew prevented further death and alleviated the suffering of many others. Relying on their naval training and discipline, the crew heroically performed more than 96 hours of continuous damage control in conditions of extreme heat and pressure, while depriving them of sleep, food and shelter, they struggled vigilantly to maintain a safe surroundings and to restore stability to the engineering systems that were essential to the ship's survival as a terrible ordeal was indeed .

*Actions taken by America after the attack

 

The FBI quickly dispatched to Yemen more than 100 agents from the Counter-Terrorism Department, the FBI Laboratory, and various field offices. Director Louis Freeh arrived soon after to assess the situation and meet with the Yemeni president.

Several FBI field offices and legal attachés, several hundred FBI agents and support staff, and members of the Joint Counterterrorism Task Force were eventually involved in the investigation; The FBI has also established a cooperative working relationship with the Yemeni government.

On November 29, 2000, a guidance document was signed between the US State Department and the Yemeni government outlining protocols for interrogating witnesses and suspects, The FBI and Yemeni investigators proceeded to conduct interviews, A large amount of physical evidence was shipped back to the FBI laboratory for examination, The FBI took photos of the crime scenes that helped identify the victims and provided detailed photographic information regarding the aftermath of the explosion.

 

Subsequently, FBI Lab personnel, as well as bomb technicians and agents from the New York and Jackson field offices, traveled to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where Cole was brought, to inspect the ship for additional evidence, Further, an extensive FBI investigation eventually concluded that members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network planned and carried out the bombing.

*Suspects :

By the end of 2000, Yemeni authorities had arrested several suspects, including Jamal Muhammad Ahmad al-Badawi and Fahd Muhammad Ahmad al-Quso, two of the alleged masterminds of the plots of the USS Sullivan and the USS Cole.

 

Al-Badawi and al-Qaws - well-known al-Qaeda operatives who trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan during the 90s - were later killed in separate US airstrikes, and another key figure in the plot - Tawfiq Muhammad bin Saleh bin Rashid bin Atash - is currently in US custody.

 

The FBI has announced additions to its Most Wanted Terrorist and Information Seek List - War on Terror Lists. Individuals on these lists are being sought for their alleged involvement in various terrorist attacks or planned attacks around the world.

 

Added to the list of wanted terrorists, which was created in October 2001, are Jamal Ahmed Muhammad Ali al-Badawi and Jaber Abdullah al-Bani, and the United States has indicted al-Badawi for his involvement in the October 2000 attack on the US destroyer Cole in Aden, Yemen, which resulted in the death of 17 sailors and 40 injured.

 

Albania has been indicted in the United States for providing material support and resources to al-Qaeda, which is linked to a terrorist investigation in Buffalo, New York area. All 20 individuals on the list of wanted terrorists have been indicted by federal juries in various jurisdictions across the United States, The eight individuals included in the FIG - War on Terror list are being sought in connection with potential terrorist threats against the United States.

 

Fugitives from Yemeni prisons have also been listed as Wanted for Terrorism and Seeking Information - War on Terror Lists, The Rewards for Justice Program, sponsored by the US State Department, offers rewards ranging from $5 million to $25 million to many terrorists for information on them.

*Enhancing Protection Training*

 

The US Navy subsequently beefed up global power protection training during critical crossings, and sailors qualified to fire M60 and Browning M2.50-caliber machine guns to defend against attacks from slow-flying aircraft and small boats.