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Memorial Day: Remembering The USS Liberty Attack

by NowPublic Staff | May 31, 2010 at 01:29 pm

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USS Liberty Conspiracy: The Truth Behind The Attack By Israel Defense Forces in 1967: 34 Soldiers Killed

Two recent events demand that we recall that awful day in 1967 when the U.S.S. Liberty, a Navy intelligence ship, was attacked by the Israel Defense Force killing 34 American soldiers and injuring 171 during the Arab-Israel 7 Day War.

The first incident of course is Memorial Day. The soldiers who died aboard the ship deserve to be remembered and their story needs to be told.

The second incident is the Israel Defense Forces storming the Gaza and killing more than 10 people. The Gaza Flotilla was reportedly attempting to deliver aid to the blockaded Gaza strip - though Israel charges the aid group behind the Flotilla has terrorist connections.

Nonetheless, the attack on the aid ship illustrates how Israel responds when questionable actions involving its military occur - which takes us back to 1967 and the sinking of the USS Liberty.

USS Liberty Attack Background

The USS Liberty was an intelligence Navy ship which reportedly intercepted electronic communication, perhaps including that of Israel's.

Israel claims that that USS Liberty attack was accidental, that the military though it was an Egyptian ship - The U.S. military and the government at the time accepted Israel's explanation and quietly muzzled the story. But accounts by surviving veterans aboard the USS Liberty flatly contradict the official version of events.

At 1400 hours, while approximately about 17 nautical miles off the northern Sinai coast and about 25 nautical miles northwest of El Arish, USS Liberty’s crew observed three surface radar contacts closing with their position at high speed. A few moments later, the bridge radar crew observed high speed aircraft passing over the surface returns on the same heading. Within a few short moments, and without any warning, Israeli fighter aircraft launched a rocket attack on USS Liberty. The aircraft made repeated firing passes, attacking USS Liberty with rockets and their internal cannons. After the first flight of fighter aircraft had exhausted their ordnance, subsequent flights of Israeli fighter aircraft continued to prosecute the attack with rockets, cannon fire, and napalm.

Simply put, the veterans say it would be impossible for Israel NOT to know they were attacking an American military ship. The Navy conducted a superficial investigation into the death of 34 of their own. Congress decided it would be best not investigate the USS Liberty attack, the military and the government have consistently stonewalled any efforts to investigate what happened.

The USS Liberty Veterans and some journalists were persistent in their charges however.

Recently documents regarding the USS Liberty Attack have been declassified but they have been heavily redacted.

Israel says that it was a mistake, and the persistent questioning of its motives are anti-semitic. The veterans say they know anti-semitic forces have latched onto the story and they condemn those forces.

Americans who volunteer for military service effectively write a blank check, payable to the United States of America for an amount "up to and including my life." The United States, in turn, promises to spend these checks responsibly. That bargain implicitly includes a promise by the United States to protect them and to seek retribution against anyone who harms them. In the case of USS Liberty, the United States has failed to keep its end of the bargain.

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Allan Farber (not verified)

at 23:00 on May 31st, 2010

The real story is well known and published in "Secret War Against the Jews" by John Loftus and Mark Aarons. The Liberty was intercepting Israeli transmissions and retransmitted the intelligence to the Arab enemy. Therefore, the Israeli's were completely justified in attacking the Liberty since otherwise the Arab enemy would know every Israeli move. The US government and the Israeli government agreed to the cover up story because otherwise Congress and the American people would find out that US was spying on a purported ally to the benefit of the Arabs. The US administrations didn't want everyone to know which side was taken. I highly recommend the book.

JoshArizona

at 20:44 on June 2nd, 2010

Allan Farber, you are either a delusional individual or a paid disinfo agent.

The Liberty intercepted Israeli transmissions confirming the mass executions of Egyptian POWs, a war crime committed by the IDF. They later committed another war crime when they machine gunned the USS Liberty's lifeboats in the water.

The Liberty's mission was neutral, only gathering intelligence and monitoring communications of both sides.

The attack was intended to be a false flag operation, orchestrated by the Israeli government and the Johnson administration who wanted to blame Egypt for the attack to bring the US into the war.

drgeox (not verified)

at 10:35 on June 3rd, 2010

The attack on the Liberty was certainly deliberate. The Israelis knew it was an American ship. I don't buy the false-flag argument and I certainly don't believe a word of the Loftus\Aarons fantasy. I have heard that attack might have occurred because the Liberty would have tipped the US to the execution of prisoners, a charge corraborated by Israeli solders and journalists. We may never really know the full reasons for the attack, however I think it's important that the incident be remembered, both to honor those who were killed and wounded, and also as an illustration that Israel as a nation is also guilty of terrorism and war crimes -- something we tend to easily forget.