Uss Cole

From 9/11 Encyclopedia:

On October 12th, 2000 the US Navy Ship USS Cole was attacked by an explosion that tore a hole in the side of the warship when it apparently was rammed by an unidentified rubber boat while the destroyer was in Aden, Yemen (Arabian/Persian Gulf) for a refueling stop. This incident has major political impact on Yemen and put further oil business of Yemen on hold. (->Yemen oil) Four U.S. sailors were killed in the incident. Defense Secretary William Cohen (->) told reporters at the Pentagon on October 12, 2000, that the cause of the explosion was not certain, but his Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vern Clark, said the USS Cole was "apparently attacked by terrorists in a small boat". 

The president of Yemen first said the incident was not a deliberate act, it was not terrorism, it was an accident, but later officially changed his mind. On October 16th, 2000 Admiral Vern Clark was supported by National Security Advisor Sandy Berger (->), who spoke of a "quite clear" terrorist act. The USS Cole is a type of the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, equipped with various radar systems, almost 10 different exterior communication systems, 10 other Navigational Equipments and a Damage Stability, 15% length of hit criterion. Source: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ddg-51.htm

As later came out, one the morning of the USS Cole attack, a harbor pilot was on the bridge of the Cole, a Yemeni officer, helping to steer the ship to its mooring. Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/00101706.htm

In the beginning, the official time of the attack was reported wrong. As the Pentagon confirmed on October 20th, 2000, the "attack" occurred nearly an hour earlier than originally thought, according to Navy officials. The officials said Oct 20 that the ship's records place the terrorist bomb blast at 11:18 a.m. rather than 12:15 p.m., as the Navy reported. Yemeni time is seven hours ahead of New York. The officials said the Cole completed mooring operations at 9:30 a.m. Refueling started at 10:30 a.m. and was ongoing at the time of the attack. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2000/n10202000_200010202.html

In November 2000, the United States and Yemen signed a document called the "Guidelines for Joint Investigation" on the USS Cole. It was signed in Aden by Ambassador Barbara Bodine for the United States and by Rasheed Ahmed Al-Gholom, the Deputy Secretary of Interior for Police Affairs, on behalf of Yemen. The attack was later linked to the Islamic Army of Aden, then finally blamed on Bin Laden. 

When FBI anti-terror specialist John O'Neill tried to investigate ties between possible plans of attacks on the United States and a yemen connection, he was sabotaged by U.S. Ambassador Barbara Bodine (->) in 2001. In early 2000, the FBI already observed two suspects Khalid Al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhazmi in the United States, but later got an unknown order to stop this observation. The CIA later confirmed, that they observed in January 2000 both Khalid Al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhamzi in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

One year later, on Aug. 23, 2001 an urgent CIA "cable" bored the names of al-Midhar and Alhamzi, who met with some USS Cole suspects. The CIA claimed, that Al-Midhar had been videotaped months earlier meeting with a suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole, and the CIA advisory was "not a routine matter," an official familiar with the events said. The meeting was officially hosted by someone named Yazid Sufaat (->). 
Source: Washington Post, September 24, 2001; Page A01 http://www.canvasdreams.com/viewarticle.cfm?articleid=1028 

Already on August 6th, 2001, President Bush was told in a CIA memo, that aircraft hijackings might be a goal of Al Qaeda. On August 13, 2001, Zacarias Moussaoui (->) was nabbed on immigration charges, while learning in a flight school. Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhazmi officially later died in the attack on the Pentagon. The State Department renewed al-Midhars visa in June 2001, with the ok of the CIA. In April 2002, after an 18-month investigation involving the Yemeni authorities, the FBI, the State Department and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Yemen was holding at least six people who played a role in attacking the Cole. The Yemenis have refused to allow the suspects to be extradited to the United States for trial. They want to prosecute those responsible in their own courts. In late October 2001, one Cole Suspect was turned Over By Pakistan. In February 2002, after a visit of Robert Mueller (FBI), Yemen still claimed, there was no evidence that Bin Laden was behind the attack on the USS Cole. Source: http://www.middleeastwire.com/yemen/stories/20020211_meno.shtml