Oct 12th, 2000 attack on the USS Cole (?Oct surprise)

[fishnfla]

was this another pre-election AQ attack designed to influence voting?
Or was this a target of opportunity attack?

[Must_B_Free]

1. Here's my question

How does AQ go from primative things like:

A. floating a raft into the side of a ship, not even bothering to consider the best point of attack (like the munitions area)

B. a failed van bombing of the WTC

to simultaneous timed explosions and simultaneous hijackings.

Which are the hallmarks of Al Qaeda? The primative attempts or the sophisticated ones?

[kentuck]

2. My question is: Why didn't Bush do anything about it ??

Because it happened on Clinton's watch?? Is that a legitimate reason? I don't think so. Clinton could have said, Saddam tried to assassinate Poppy before he was sworn in so he didn't really have to bomb Saddam.....

[fishnfla]

3. Clinton and Berger had a plan

but shrub and rice didnt pick it up.

maybe thats why they pulled it off then, with a transition they knew they'd get away with it. although I believe the perps were captured and subsequently escaped.

[nomatrix]

4. Richard Clarke, John O'Neill knew

The Cole Investigation

"Colleagues describe the significant obstacles O'Neill faced as the investigation's on-scene commander in Yemen: a U.S. ambassador who arguably wanted full control, uncooperative Yemeni officials, a generally hostile environment, and ultimately, the failure of FBI headquarters to fully support O'Neill. Drawn from the full interviews with Richard Clarke, Mary Jo White, Barry Mawn, Clint Guenther and Chris Isham."


"Then January 2001 comes, and O'Neill wants to go back to Yemen. But Ambassador Bodine wouldn't give him clearance."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/john/yemen.html

Excellent background.

Put this together with Bodine, O'Neill and the book "The Forbidden Truth".