Terrorist Attack on US Warship -----

For those that haven't heard, a US warship was attacked in the Persian Gulf. 4 sailors were killed, 31 injured, and the ship is badly damaged.

Just a reminder, 150 members of the Houston Air National Guard just left to enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq. Please take a moment to remember (and pray for, if you are so inclined) all of our soldiers and sailors that are "on the line."
http://www.msnbc.com/news/475547.asp

Suicide bombing against Navy ship

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 — At least four U.S. sailors were killed and 31 injured Thursday when a suicide bomber rammed a Navy destroyer at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. U.S. officials told NBC Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski that they had feared just such an attack.

A SMALL speed boat filled with explosives slammed into the USS Cole in port at Yemen, U.S. officials said. At least 31 of its 350 crew were injured, five seriously. One sailor was missing. The registry of the boat, an inflatable Zodiac, and the nationality of its occupants were not immediately known. No one has claimed responsibility.

Miklaszewski reported that the bombing left a 20-by-40-foot hole in the ship, which lost power and took on water for a time. No fires broke out. “We don’t know exactly ... what kind of explosives were used,” one official said, “but it caused one helluva an explosion.”

U.S. officials had thought it was only a matter of time before such an attack was attempted, Miklaszewski added. The USS Cole is part of the ongoing operation to enforce sanctions against Iraq. Miklaszewski added that even though Navy ships deploy tight security when at port, the attack happened so quickly that the crew was caught by surprise.

Yemen is on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the Red Sea. The Cole was in port for a four-hour refueling stop and was to have headed to Bahrain for a port visit. Background about the USS Cole is available on a Navy Web site at www.spear.navy.mil/ships/ddg67

President Bill Clinton was expected to talk to reporters about the bombing later Thursday morning. A spokesman said the president was “obviously horrified” and had ordered officials to “do everything possible to find those responsible.”


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FYI -- They are now saying that it may not have been a zodiac, but one of the "local" boats that was helping to moor the ship. The president has ordered all US warships out of port.

One interesting note -- which makes you wonder how well this was planned. If someone wanting to initiate hostilities had to pick one ship to damage, this would be it.

Carrier groups usually have two Aegis capable ships, a Ticondaroga class ship for close in defense, and a guided missile destroyer, in this case, the Cole. The destroyer would play shortstop, on the shore (threat) side of the battle group, and would probably have a good part of the group's Tomahawk Cruise missiles.

Whoever did this temporarily eliminated a third of the group's air-to-air missiles, and maybe half of the cruise missile threat. Not to mention one of the two biggest ship radars in the carrier group, the one that would be closer to shore.

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Cut and paste -- and I don't think the MSNBC reporter was very good. There are several inconsistencies in the stories.

There's no way that one of the area "troublemakers" could really threaten a US carrier battle group. What I meant wast that they could have targeted the Cole as a offensive threat -- to remove it's Tomahawk missiles; and to remove the ability of the battle group to project it's defensive anti-air "bubble" forward of the battle group, and shield other potential targets.

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I'm no great expert. I just kind of a naval buff, and find the whole subject kind of fascinating.

I don't know that that particular ship was targeted, but if you were going to pick one, our latest model of guided missile destroyer is probably a good choice. I'm sure any area government (like Iraq) would be well aware of the capabilities, and they are saying it looks like an organized, prepared attack. They wouldn't mind limiting our cruise missile ability for a few weeks.

No it wouldn't cripple US forces, but it could make it more difficult for them to react to other attacks. Iraq has been flexing it's muscles, during a time when they percieve the US to be weakened (because of the approaching elections, and other area commitments). They wouldn't mind us being short a few Tomahawks.

Or, it could just be terrorists, who didn't care which ship was targeted, as long as it has USS next to it.


I'm sure the DOD has contingency plans, but our navy is to the point where every ship is precious -- even the little ones. The navy is half the size it was in the Regan era, and we haven't lost a major combatant in a long time. We are trying to respond to a dozen brushfires at once, so the navy is stretched awfully thin. If another ship is avilable, it could take at least 1-2 weeks to travel to the area, and that would mean pulling it away from another assignment.

The navy has about 318 ships, including 12 aircraft carriers. They have 29 Aegis Destroyers, and 27 Aegis Cruisers. Their normal cycle is 3 months in maintenance, 3 months in training and workup, and 3 months deployed, meaning at best, we have about 100 ships on duty at a time, including 3-4 carriers. The ships also have to spend significant time in deep overhaul -- we usually have one carrier in deep overhaul, which can last up to 3 years to refuel a nuclear reactor. Even to get as many as 100 ships deployed, we cut back on training and maintenance.

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[This message has been edited by dc sports (edited October 12, 2000).]

 

You are right -- that's a great comparison. It will be interesting to see if Iraq is also responsible for this bombing -- and if this illicits the same kind of outrage.

The big difference, politically, is that this one is right before an election, which will give the final days of the Clinton/Gore admistration very little time to show they can deal with it. This could deffinitely affect the coming election.


FYI -- The US Navy website, www.navy.mil, has info on its ships' current assignments.

The 101 ships deployed are split between the Atlantic and Pacific. We currently have the 5th fleet and the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Adriatic Sea, the 6th fleet with the USS George Washington in the Mediterranean, and the 7th fleet based around the USS Kitty Hawk is our sole deployed carrier group assigned to the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The 5th fleet, to which the Cole was assigned, seems to actually be pretty well equipped. It has 2 Aegis Cruisers, 3 other Aegis Destroyers, and two less capable guided missile frigates. They provide coverage for a carrier group, an amphibious group, three fleet replenishment ships, and any other ships in the area. They also have two standard destroyers, 3 amphibious ships, and four anti-mine ships in the group/area.

The nearest other group, the 5th fleet, in the Mediterranean, has a cruiser, two standard destroyers, and one guided missile frigate protecting a similar sized force.

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[This message has been edited by dc sports (edited October 12, 2000).]

 

We have carriers named after Kennedy and Lincoln. In fact, ten carriers have been named after US presidents: Kennedy, Lincoln, Eisenhower, both Roosevelts, Lincoln, Washington, Truman, and Regan, plus on senator John Stenis. All of these men, except for Regan, are now dead, and that his ship has not been completed yet. (Of course, he survived an assasination attempt.) Coincidence?


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