On the morning of October 12, 2000, the Aegis-class ship U.S.S Cole arrived in the Port of Aden for a routine refueling en route to joining a carrier group in the Persian Gulf. At approximately 11:18 local time, a small fiberglass boat with two occupants approached the ship without raising security concerns or alarms. As U.S. Navy sailors looked on as the refueling operations continued, the small vessel pulled alongside and detonated. The explosion ripped a 40-foot wide hole in the side of the ship, leaving 17 sailors dead and many others injured. The follow-on investigation aimed at determining why such a vital U.S. warship could be left so vulnerable and attacked so deliberately, all while its attackers and their plans went virtually undetected
…show more content…
Counterintelligence agents throughout the Middle East region provide the key function of collection by employing sources such as “elicitation, official liaison contacts, debriefings, screenings, and OSINT to obtain information that answers standing CI collection requirements or other collection requirements.” This collection is defined best as “the systematic acquisition of information concerning the FISS, international terrorist organization, and adversary intelligence collection threat.” We see this function in work as a critical support node that supports an overall mission or …show more content…
asset or personnel. This was mainly carried out in the form of “assessments of ports, airfields and inland movement routes that may be used by transiting forces.” These assessments, and the information collected, form the foundation for the situational awareness that battlefield or naval commanders need when determining how to posture their forces. This type of operation is noted in an unclassified entry in the USCENTCOM Commander-in-Chief’s Theater Engagement Plan 1250-01 which states, “USCENTCOM has an active Force Protection program responsible for vulnerability assessments and site surveys.” Furthermore, these assessments “will be used as part of the overall theater assessment process and will assist in determining the appropriate level of force protection required for forces conducting engagement
Counterintelligence agents throughout the Middle East region provide the key function of collection by employing sources such as “elicitation, official liaison contacts, debriefings, screenings, and OSINT to obtain information that answers standing CI collection requirements or other collection requirements.” This collection is defined best as “the systematic acquisition of information concerning the FISS, international terrorist organization, and adversary intelligence collection threat.” We see this function in work as a critical support node that supports an overall mission or …show more content…
asset or personnel. This was mainly carried out in the form of “assessments of ports, airfields and inland movement routes that may be used by transiting forces.” These assessments, and the information collected, form the foundation for the situational awareness that battlefield or naval commanders need when determining how to posture their forces. This type of operation is noted in an unclassified entry in the USCENTCOM Commander-in-Chief’s Theater Engagement Plan 1250-01 which states, “USCENTCOM has an active Force Protection program responsible for vulnerability assessments and site surveys.” Furthermore, these assessments “will be used as part of the overall theater assessment process and will assist in determining the appropriate level of force protection required for forces conducting engagement