” ‘We had data just days before the [October 12, 2000] [USS] Cole bombing,’ says Lt. Col. [Anthony] Shaffer, ‘that Aden [Yemen] was a hot spot. I communicated this information to SOCOM [U.S. Special Operations Command] and they reportedly passed it on to CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command], but for unknown reasons the threat assessment was not communicated to Commander [Kirk] Lippold, the skipper of the Cole.’ “ Lippold said, according to Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA): ” ‘If I would have known there was any potential problem in Aden, I would not have gone into port. But no one told me.’ Seventeen sailors came home in body bags.”
– Peter Lance, Triple Cross, Page 357