Sounds like Zinni 'retired' right after the Cole/Yemen thing. No coincidence, I suspect.
If it was he who decided Yemen was a good fueling port then he was partly responsible. So were the ones who sat on the alert. That is why the State Department has no business being involved in such matters. But the disturbing thing is what have we learned? Berthing a nuclear aircraft carrier at a pier in the M.E. is insanity yet our current leaders do so in UAE.
I don't care how good they claim air defenses and security is it's a stupid move in a hostile environment. Use the ships Utility Boats instead that policy served us well for decades. In 4 year my ship moored once at one foreign port {1970's France} and even then remained steaming.
If a carrier is anchored in the harbor it can be underway {moving } in less than 5 minutes on it's own power with no tug boats or Pilot needed. {I was on one that did it years ago under emergency conditions} Otherwise we're talking about an hour at best to get underway & out of port situation. Under battle conditions minutes and even seconds count. Any ship in the eastern Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, or PG must be considered being under battle conditions or a modified alert status. We need to draw on experiences and policies used in the Cold War and act accordingly.