[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

27 ships safely refueled in Aden before the Cole was attacked. Zinni went on terminal leave in July of 2000 and retired on 1 September, 42 days before the Cole was attacked. If his succesor at CENTCOM thought that Aden was unsafe he had three months after Zinni left to change the policy. He didn't.

[colorado tanker]

My impression is that Gen. Zinni has failed to appreciate the threat that grew during his tenure at CENTCOM both from Al Qaeda and Iraq. His present advice that the top U.S. priority in the region should be negotiating a peace treaty for Palestinian indepedence seems almost comically rooted in the past and out of touch with present realities. Yemen has been notorious for its violence and instability since the departure of the British from Aden. Combine with that the Al Qaeda presence in the ancestral homeland of the Bin Laden clan and I just can't fathom what motivated the decision to move refueling to Aden without a truly robust security presence.

I respect your service and opinions. Do you think I'm being unfair in criticising Gen. Zinni?