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Morning News

Retired U.S. Navy Captain Discusses Security Questions in the Case of the USS Cole

Aired January 4, 2001 - 9:24 a.m. ET

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

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: With more on the security questions in the case of the USS Cole, we turn now to retired U.S. Navy Captain Alec Fraser. He's currently president of Turner Properties here in Atlanta. He has served as captain aboard a destroyer that was the same model as the Cole.

We thank you for coming in and giving us your insight, once again, on this particular case.

First of all, I want to ask you about Jamie's report there mentioning 62 different precautions that were issued out by the authorities that were supposed to be followed as guidelines by the captains of these ships. And in this case, they are saying the captain didn't do that in this particular case. Is what he did, though, so different than what other captains of other ships are doing?

CAPT. ALEC FRASER, U.S. NAVY (RET.): The answer to that is no. If I had been the captain of the Cole, I think the same incident would have happened. I've spoken to numerous captains, both retired and who are currently serving, since the incident, and they all agree that most of them would have had the same incident happen to them had they been in the place of the captain of the USS Cole.

But it is important to understand here accountability. Accountability in the Navy is given to a captain because he has absolute authority, and therefore, he has absolute accountability. Whether the captain of the Cole violated one or most of the 62 or 162 measures, doesn't relieve of the accountability. But he is not the only one who ought to be accountable.

HARRIS: Who else should be then?

FRASER: Navy ships do not refuel in hostile ports. The determination of whether a hostile port is safe to go into or not safe is made by the senior commanders. The commander of the Fifth Fleet or the commander-in-chief of Central Command. Those individuals should determine the safety of the port because the ship is not well equipped to defend itself in port. Pearl Harbor was a good example of that.

HARRIS: What other equipment was it then that this ship actually needed then to fully protect itself, if it didn't have everything it needed? FRASER: A lot of the reports here that Jamie just mentioned about small boats, for instance. A ship has two small boats, generally. They are used to take people and supplies ashore. They are not designed for security. Even if they were used, there are two sides to the ship. And even if they were used, there are numerous times when weather conditions prevent those bodies from being in the water, whereas there are larger harbor boats that are going by.

It is almost impossible, without large Marine or Coast Guard boats to adequately defend a ship in a busy harbor.

HARRIS: With that being the case then, with that comment in mind, had all 62 precautions been followed, is there a guarantee, then, is there some sort of certainty that 100 percent so, there would not have been this attack on the Cole?

FRASER: Absolutely not. The rules of engagement show that if a boat demonstrates some sort of hostile action, then you can fire at it. There were sentries on the Cole, as I understand it. Those sentries would wave, they would blow whistles, but in most cases, in my experience, people who don't speak the same language, don't understand the hand signals. They don't just move away, they come alongside. They hay have mail, they may have spare parts. There are all types of reasons why boats come alongside a ship.

HARRIS: Thanks for your insight, Alec Fraser, appreciate it.

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