U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BRIEFER: PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2000 1:30 P.M. (ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED) Q: And one more question. Can you say whether, at the time of the explosion of the Cole in the harbor in Aden, whether the US Embassy in Sanaa was on a heightened state of alert? MR. REEKER: I think, as we have talked about previously, we had no specific information in advance of the attack on the Cole. At all of our embassies, particularly our embassies in the region, security personnel continually review and adjust the security posture. But I think as we have discussed before, certainly since the tragic bombings of the embassies in East Africa in August of 1998, we have been significantly ramped up in terms of our security posture around the world, and certainly in those areas where we are aware of threats. But again, there was no specific information in advance of the attack on the Cole, and our security personnel at all of our embassies, including our Embassy in Sanaa, continuously review and adjust the security posture accordingly. .... Q: Back on Yemen for a minute. The report of a threat against the hotel where some of the FBI investigators have been staying - is it still the case that the Government feels that the Yemeni authorities are cooperating as fully as they can in this investigation? MR. REEKER: I think the investigation - and you may be able to get some more details from my colleagues at the Pentagon, who will be briefing shortly - the investigation into the USS Cole explosion is continuing, and as you know, while it's under way, we are all not commenting on any particular reports or speculating on responsibility or details. We have had cooperation from the Yemenis. We have talked about that. We have had very good cooperation from Yemen. President Salih pledged to President Clinton and to Secretary Albright - I think we discussed that in the past weeks - and to other US officials that Yemen would offer all needed cooperation, and they have done that. So we expect the government to continue to abide by President Salih's pledge because, as we have said, Yemeni cooperation is critical to seeing this investigation through to its successful conclusion there. (The briefing was concluded at 2:10 P.M.)