Mercogliano connects USS Cole's stop in Aden in 2000 to a rapid deployment without an available underway replenishment vessel. High-speed transit consumed fuel that had to be replaced before the ship entered the Persian Gulf. An al-Qaeda cell had watched the refuelling pattern and had attempted an earlier attack on USS The Sullivans. In this interpretation, the decision that placed Cole in port created the exposure that allowed the attackers to cripple the destroyer.
Notable Point · 1:26:05-1:27:29
A refueling requirement exposed USS Cole in Aden
USS Cole entered Aden because no underway replenishment ship was available, turning a fuel requirement into a force-protection vulnerability.