Charges Announced In USS Cole Bombing

Local Sailor Killed In Attack WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon said Monday it is charging a Saudi Arabian with "organizing and directing" the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole -- and will seek the death penalty. The attack killed 17 sailors, including one from San Diego. Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, legal adviser to the U.S. military tribunal system, said charges are being sworn against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri , a Saudi of Yemeni descent, who has been held at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006. The charges still must be approved by a Defense Department official who oversees military tribunals set up for terrorism suspects. If they are approved, al-Nashiri will be the first person charged in the United States in connection with the attack nearly eight years ago. Hartmann said the allegations include conspiracy to... [read full story]