U.S. Navy base put on high alert
Terrorism threat in Naples forces cancellation of carrier visit
SOURCE:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/505598.asp?cp1=1
NBC NEWS AND WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 — The U.S. Navy base in
Naples, Italy, is on a heightened state of alert
after an alleged terrorism threat forced the
aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman to cancel a port
call. In addition, U.S. sailors were ordered to
evacuate a residence hotel just outside the Italian
port city and return to base.

THE THREATS were received last Friday and the
Navy base was immediately ordered to
THREATCON-CHARLIE, the second-highest state of
alert for US troops, NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reported
Tuesday.
Intelligence officials could not verify the threat, but
according to Navy officials, “given the circumstances, [the
October bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen], the threat
was considered credible enough to order additional security
steps.”
Asked if any additional security was provided to the
Fox Sports Football broadcast team which recorded its
weekend shows on the deck of the Truman, one Navy
official responded, “No. The threats were against U.S.
military forces, not aging ex-football players.”

GLOBAL THREAT
U.S. military forces have been on a heightened state of
alert since Oct. 12 when terrorists bombed the USS Cole
while it refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden.
A small boat maneuvered alongside the huge destroyer
and, without drawing attention from the ship’s security
forces, detonated explosives that tore a hole in the ship and
killed 17 sailors.
Yemeni authorities arrested a number of suspects in the
attack and a government official said last month that at least
three men would be brought to trial in January.


U.S. officials, however, are still investigating the
bombing and Osama bin Laden, the international terrorist
based in Afghanistan, remains their No. 1 suspect.
Bin Laden already has been indicted by U.S. courts in
the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya,
and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which killed 224 people.
On Monday, a sweeping new study by intelligence
analysts and non-government experts concluded that the
main threats to U.S. territory over the coming 15 years will
likely come from terrorists and other adversaries using
low-tech tools of war, such as happened in the attack on
the Cole.
This threat is made more worrisome by a trend toward
increasing collusion among terrorists, drug traffickers,
weapons proliferators and organized crime, according to the
assessment “Global Trends 2015.”
“Most adversaries will recognize the information
advantage and military superiority of the United States in
2015,” the report said. “Rather than acquiesce to any
potential U.S. military domination, they will try to
circumvent or minimize U.S. strengths and exploit perceived
weaknesses.”

The Cole attack,
which is described as
“asymmetric warfare” will
threaten U.S. interests not
only abroad but also at
home, the report said.
“Such asymmetric
approaches — whether
undertaken by states or nonstate actors — will become the
dominant characteristic of most threats to the U.S.
homeland,” the report said. This will become the “defining
challenge” of U.S. national security strategy and military
force development in coming years.

tommy parker