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'New York Times': Pentagon Commission Finds 'Significant Gaps' in Persian Gulf Security Force Protection

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on to a story that we found today in today's "New York Times." As we're getting ready for the news each day, we do go through all the major newspapers across the U.S. and the world. And one story in particular intrigued us: a story on a Pentagon commission that's been looking into the bombing of the USS Cole and what kind of recommendations they'll be making on tightening security to protect troops all around the Persian Gulf, and also all around the world.

We have with us on the phone right now the reporter who filed that story, Steven Lee Myers from the "New York Times."

Steven, good morning.

STEVEN LEE MYERS, "NEW YORK TIMES": Good morning.

KAGAN: What do you know about what this Pentagon commission has found about the bombing and what they're going to recommend?

MYERS: The Pentagon commission led by Adm. Gehman and Gen. Crouch has been looking at security in the Persian Gulf in the wake of the bombing, what holes might have been there. And what they found is that there were shortcomings in security in the region.

KAGAN: With the crew and with the leaders or...

MYERS: The goal of this commission was to look at security in a broader sense throughout the region. The Navy itself is doing a separate but parallel investigation on the crew itself. That investigation has found that there were shortcomings aboard the ship. What this commission has done is found flaws or holes, if you will, in security in the region as well, not just with the Cole, but in other ports and facilities that are used in that region by American forces.

KAGAN: So is that to suggest that when other ships pull into this region they're basically sitting ducks like the Cole was?

MYERS: I think there's no question that they found significant gaps in security force protection, as they call it, for ships and planes that pass through the region. And what they're going to recommend when they make their report public is a series of steps to tighten the security for these forces as they move through.

KAGAN: Were you able to find out what some of those recommendations might be?

MYERS: They say that a lot of the recommendations they're never going to make public. They want to keep them secret because they want to thwart any would-be attackers. But I think we will get some sense of the steps that they're going to take. I think it's going to involve, you know, being more attentive when they pull into ports, it's going to involve tightening relationships with ports and with security officials in countries that they visit.

KAGAN: And when do they present this report?

MYERS: They're going to brief the secretary of defense this week, and Congress next week, at which point it will become public.

KAGAN: Should get a better glimpse of that. Thank you very much.

That's Steven Lee Myers on the phone with us from the "New York Times," filing the story on the bombing of the USS Cole and what might be learned from that to protect U.S. troops around the world.

Once again to remind you, in that bombing, 17 U.S. sailors were killed in that attack, and 39 others were injured.

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