Uss Cole Bombing

Bombing of the USS Cole

Cole Nelson

Intro to Emergency Management

November 22, 2016

Whenever the topic of terrorism attacks is brought up, a kaleidoscope of horrific events tunnels through your mind. When this thought is entertained, most people would think of 9/11 or the Boston Marathon bombing which are a couple of incidents that stood out in recent years. However, people would be shocked to believe that the group who arranged the attacks on September 11th 2001 had made an earlier terrorist attack against the United States. The USS Cole was attacked by the al Qaeda extremist group and the lives of many were forever changed.

            The USS Cole was attacked on October 12, 2000 by the terrorist group known as al Qaeda. It was a typical day for the crew on the USS Cole until they pulled into the Aden port where things took a turn for the worse. In the middle of the day, the ship was attacked by two males in a dinghy that was filled with explosives (The USS Cole: Twelve Years Later, No Justice or Understanding.”). The attack was successful and killed 17 sailors and injured 49 as well as severely damaging the brand new destroyer. This was a devastating blow to the surviving crew as well as United States’ security.

            The attack on the USS Cole caused Captain Lippold, the captain of the USS Cole during the time of the attack, to address the larger problem at hand. This attack was an act of war. The al Qaeda terrorist group had successful completed an act of war against the United States military and something needed to be done. Captain Lippold was at the CIA headquarters on September 11th 2001, and 8 minutes before the attack on the twin towers he said, “America doesn’t understand. I believe it’s going to take a seminal event probably in this country where hundreds if not thousands die before Americans realize we’re at war with [Osama bin Laden]” (The USS Cole: Twelve Years Later, No Justice or Understanding.”). The crew on the USS Cole understood the severity of the situation that day. They were the ones who had to watch their best friends die, they were the ones who were under attack, and they were the ones who came face to face with terrorism. No one else would ever understand what they went through except the people on their left and right.

            After this attack, the lives of the men and women aboard the USS Cole were forever changed. The crew had to stay on the ship for three weeks after the attack. Due to damage during the attack, they had to sleep outside on the decks in blazing hot weather (“After 15 Years, USS Cole Crew Reflects on Terror Attack."). The smell of rotting flesh permeated the air as it intoxicated the lungs of the survivors, reminding them of everything they had lost in the previous weeks. This constant reminder of tragedy greatly affected the mental stability of the surviving crew. The stress and emotions that these individuals have experienced and will continue to experience each day as they live with the memory of the events will continually haunt them. The Post Traumatic Stress that was inflicted on these survivors is something that needed immediate attention. The higher ranking officials were advised to get the crew back on a normal routine as soon as possible to help with their distress (After 15 Years,USS Cole Crew Reflects on Terror Attack."). Also, counselors and mental help was immediately provided for those aboard the ship during the attack. This attack illustrated not only the physical damage that was done that day but also the mental damage.

            Investigators were particularly interested in this terrorist attack because it seemed very bizarre that the al Qaeda group would be able to pull off such an attack with no notice. There are many different theories and conspiracies regarding what happened that day. The United States had finally began allowing ships to refuel in the Aden port to start improving relations between the United States and Yemen ("USS Cole Bombing). Further investigation has raised some suspicions though, how could such a simple plan been so effective? After torturing Bin Attash, he finally admitted that he was the young mind behind the USS Cole planning and helped plan the attacks on 9/11. However, something still didn’t add up. For the plan to have gone accordingly, this means that the suicide bombers had to be waiting in the dingy filled with explosives knowing that the USS Cole was coming in to refuel. But the USS Cole did not inform the port that it was coming to refuel until shortly before, so how did the terrorists know when to act?( The USS Cole: Twelve Years Later, No Justice or Understanding." ) These are all questions that remain unanswered and have led to several questioning theories of Yemen’s responsibility in the attack. In fact, the Yemen’s government investigation on the attacks of USS Cole concluded that the United States attacked their own ship (The USS Cole: Twelve Years Later, No Justice or Understanding."). This could easily be an effort to cover themselves and their involvement in the attacks. To this day, the investigations still leave many unanswered questions and provoke theories.