[CWOJackson]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The former U.S. armed forces commander-in-chief in charge of overseeing operations in the Middle East -- and the man who made the decision to enter into a ship-servicing contract with the Yemeni government -- told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that a series of Yemeni government overtures to the United States four years ago created the circumstances that led to the attack on the USS Cole last week.

Gen. Anthony Zinni, one-time commander of USCENTCOM, or the United States Central Command, said social and political changes that have occurred in Yemen in the last decade and the country's willingness to broaden its contacts with the United States prompted Central Command to slowly and deliberately open up cooperative efforts with the Red Sea nation.

Zinni retired as Centcom's commander three months ago.

That cooperation with Yemen, he said, has consisted of limited military to military contact, and the signing of a contract opening up Yemeni shipping lanes to U.S. military craft patrolling the Persian Gulf to enforce U.N. sanctions in place against Iraq.

Under that contract, now some 18 months old, 23 U.S. vessels have visited the southern Yemeni port of Aden to be refueled, all without incident.

"The refueling of that ship in Aden," Zinni said Wednesday, "...Was my decision. I pass the buck on to nobody."

[Veracious Poet]

Wow, you actually found the truth (BTW, that's exactly what I posted earlier).

Truly amazing, but you forgot to mention the part about the "doctrine of the ambassador soldier".

Do you even know what that was?