U.S. orders closure of 37 missions worldwide

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 14. The Clinton administration has not said much officially on the status of the ongoing investigations into the blast in the USS Cole at Aden that left 17 sailors dead. But against the backdrop of the attack and the ongoing unrest in the West Bank and the Gaza, the State Department has ordered the closure of at least 37 Embassies and Consulates for the weekend.

``Obviously in the light of the history of attacks you have to be concerned of additional attacks. We have also sent messages to embassies worldwide to be careful, to be vigilant, and... to keep in very close touch with the American communities,'' the State Department spokesman, Mr. Richard Boucher, said. The closure of some diplomatic premises did not mean Washington was withdrawing in the face of terrorism, he added.

Several U.S. posts in West Asia, the Persian Gulf area and North Africa have been closed for business until Monday. Diplomatic missions in Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, Senegal, Mauritania, Djibouti, South Africa and Sierra Leone have also been affected.

The administration may not be harping on the words terrorism and terrorists, but there is little doubt about what caused the blast in the American destroyer that killed so many sailors and seriously injured several others. Western diplomats in Aden were quoted reports as saying that the explosion seemed to be the work of a well-organised group with good connections in the Port of Aden where the USS Cole stopped for re-fuelling.

Bomb experts, in the view of Admiral Vernon Clark, Chief of Naval Operations, determined that the blast was triggered from outside. This is being emphasised to discount one theory that the weapons being carried by the ship may have caused the explosion. Two suicide bombers are said to have carried out the attack, the worst since the 1996 bombing of U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia that left 19 dead.

According to a report in The New York Times, the U.S. received a ``general'' warning of a possible attack on a warship last month, but as this lacked specificity ``it got put on the shelf''. The focus of investigation is an Yemeni contractor in charge of refuelling U.S. warships in Aden and two Islamic outfits claiming responsibility for the attack.

In the initial phases of the investigation and amidst many claims of responsibility for the incident, the U.S. has not taken Osama bin Laden off its list of suspects.

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