Flog flog flog flog the dead horse.
It was all explained several pages back.



The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 170 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4]

Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty,[5] though others have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[6]

Events leading to the attack

During the Six-Day War between Israel and several Arab nations, the United States of America maintained a neutral country status.[8] Several days before the war began, the USS Liberty was ordered to proceed to the eastern Mediterranean area to perform a signal intelligence collection mission in international waters near the north coast of Sinai, Egypt.[9] After the war erupted, due to concerns about her safety as she approached her patrol area, several messages were sent to Liberty to increase her allowable closest point of approach (CPA) to Egypt's and Israel's coasts from 12.5 nmi (14.4 mi; 23.2 km) and 6.5 nmi (7.5 mi; 12.0 km), respectively, to 20 nmi (23 mi; 37 km) and 15 nmi (17 mi; 28 km), and then later to 100 nmi (120 mi; 190 km) for both countries.[10] Unfortunately, due to ineffective message handling and routing, the CPA change messages were not received until after the attack.[10]

According to Israeli sources, at the start of the war on June 5, General Yitzhak Rabin (then IDF Chief of Staff) informed Commander Ernest Carl Castle, the American Naval Attaché in Tel Aviv, that Israel would defend its coast with every means at its disposal, including sinking unidentified ships. Also, he asked the U.S. to keep its ships away from Israel's shore or at least inform Israel of their exact position.[11][12] The United States did not provide Israel any information about Liberty's mission or location.

American sources said that no inquiry about ships in the area was made until after the Liberty attack ended. In a message sent from U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk to U.S. Ambassador Walworth Barbour, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Rusk asked for "urgent confirmation" of Israel's claim. Barbour responded: "No request for info on U.S. ships operating off Sinai was made until after Liberty incident." Further, Barbour stated: "Had Israelis made such an inquiry it would have been forwarded immediately to the chief of naval operations and other high naval commands and repeated to dept [Department of State]."[13]

With the outbreak of war, Captain William L. McGonagle of the Liberty immediately asked Vice Admiral William I. Martin at the U.S. 6th Fleet headquarters to send a destroyer to accompany the Liberty and serve as its armed escort and as an auxiliary communications center. The following day, June 6, Admiral Martin replied: “Liberty is a clearly marked United States ship in international waters, not a participant in the conflict and not a reasonable subject for attack by any nation. Request denied.”[14] He promised, however, that in the unlikely event of an inadvertent attack, jet fighters from the Sixth Fleet could be overhead in ten minutes.

Meanwhile, at the United Nations, and in response to Arab complaints that the U.S. and British were supporting Israel in the conflict, United States Ambassador Arthur Goldberg announced that the U.S. forces were hundreds of miles from the conflict.[10] At the time the statement was made, this was the case, since the Liberty was just entering the Mediterranean Sea[15] but would ultimately steam to within a few miles of the Sinai Peninsula.

On the night of June 7 Washington time, early morning on June 8, 01:10Z or 3:10 AM local time, the Pentagon issued an order to 6th Fleet headquarters to tell the Liberty to come no closer than 100 nmi (120 mi; 190 km) to Israel, Syria, or the Sinai coast (Oren, p. 263).[16] (pages 5 and Exhibit N, page 58).

According to the Naval Court of Inquiry[17] (p. 23 ff, p. 111 ff) and National Security Agency official history,[18] the order to withdraw was not sent on the radio frequency that USS Liberty monitored for her orders until 15:25 Zulu, several hours after the attack, due to a long series of administrative and message routing problems. The Navy said a large volume of unrelated high-precedence traffic, including intelligence intercepts related to the conflict, were being handled at the time and it also faulted a shortage of qualified radio men as a contributing factor to the failure to send the withdrawal message to Liberty in time.[17] (p. 111 ff)

President Johnson doesn't give a crap about anything but himself and his political career. He would do anything for the people who pay for it.



I don't think you would be saying that if you had been on that ship and watched as planes drilled holes through three American flags and killed your ship mates.

I find it unbelievable that there are people like you who actually excuse and defend mass murder.

Israel's planes were unmarked. Like always, they pretend to be someone who they are not. They commit mass murder behind masks and disguises.

Israel's attack on the Liberty was an act of war.

Israel is not our friend.

Inept stupidity is no excuse for mass murder. Who was brought to trial for these mistakes? If you find it easier to believe that Israeli military are just stupid and inept, than the truth that they were under orders to attack the Liberty knowing full well what it was, then that inept incompetent military should be disarmed. They are not to be trusted with loaded guns or weapons. They are too stupid and incompetent.

Israel should be disarmed if they are that confused and incompetent with weapons.

The Captain of The USS Liberty was awarded The Medal of Honour but it was noted that he received it for Service in Vietnam?

He was presented with the medal in a Naval Establishment and not at the White House as is customary.

This video shows military men wearing medals of honour and are still looking for answers.

Should one refer them to Wikileaks as some on here swear by it.


People amaze me and that is sometimes good but some people are beyond a joke. No Emoticon included

http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/war-crimes-1/loss-of-liberty.html

Reference list from the Wikipedia article which you don't like.

References

^ a b c "Wikimapia.org Tag"
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, pp. 29,28,52
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 26
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 57
^ a b c d e f John Crewdson (2007-10-02). "New revelations in attack on American spy ship". Chicago Tribune.
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 64
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 1
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 5
^ a b c Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 21
^ "The attack on the Liberty Incident 8 June 1967" (PDF). Israel Defence Forces, History Department, Research and Instruction Branch. June 1982. p. 22.
^ "The failure of the Israeli navy's attacks on Egyptian and Syrian ports early in the war did little to assuage Israel's fears. Consequently, the IDF Chief of Staff, Gen. Yitzhak Rabin, informed the U.S. Naval Attaché in Tel Aviv, Cmdr. Ernest Carl Castle, that Israel would defend its coast with every means at its disposal. Unidentified vessels would be sunk, Rabin advised; the United States should either acknowledge its ships in the area or remove them. The U.S. had also rejected Israel's request for a formal naval liaison. On May 31, Avraham Harman, Israel's ambassador to Washington, had warned Under Secretary of State Eugene V. Rostow that if war breaks out, we would have no telephone number to call, no code for plane recognition, and no way to get in touch with the U.S. Sixth Fleet.'" Oren, Michael B. The USS Liberty: Case Closed, Azure, Spring 5760 / 2000, No. 9.
^ Scott 2009, p. 197
^ Ennis Jr, James M. (1987). Assault on the Liberty. [New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 38–39. ISBN 0-8041-0108-6.
^ a b "NSA History Report" (PDF).
^ http://www.nsa.gov/liberty/51668/3084841.pdf[dead link]
^ a b c d e f U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry Court of Inquiry for USS Liberty attack, Record of Proceedings, June 18, 1967
^ NSA History Report, pp. 21–23
^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 1
^ NSA History Report, p. 25
^ Ennis 1987, pp. 56–62
^ Ennis 1987, p. 62
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oren, Michael B. - Six Days of War: June 1967 and the making of the modern Middle East
^ IDF History Report 1982, pp. 7–8
^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 8
^ a b Bamford, Body of Secrets
^ a b c d e f g IDF History Report 1982, p. 11
^ Yerushalmi Inquiry Report. page 3
^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 12
^ Scott 2009, p. 215
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 28
^ Scott 2009, p. 66
^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 13
^ a b c "While Egyptian naval ships were known to disguise their identities with Western markings, they usually displayed Arabic letters and numbers only. The fact that the ship had Western markings led Rabin to fear that it was Soviet, and he immediately called off the jets. Two IAF Hornet helicopters were sent to look for survivors—Spector had reported seeing men overboard—while the torpedo boat squadron was ordered to hold its fire pending further attempts at identification. Though that order was recorded in the torpedo boat's log, [the commander,] Oren claimed he never received it." Oren, Michael B. The USS Liberty: Case Closed, Azure, Spring 5760 / 2000, No. 9.
^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 16
^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 17
^ Captain William McGonagle Memorial Arlington National Cemetery
^ Ram Ron Report Colonel Ram Ron, Israel Defense Forces Inquiry Commission Report, June 16, 1967, p.9
^ George Lenczowski, American Presidents and the Middle East, 1990, p. 111. Citing Ennes, Assault on the Liberty, appendix S, p. 285
^ Lyndon B. Johnson, Vantage Point, p.300–301

We learned that the ship had been attacked in error by Israeli gunboats and planes. Ten men of the Liberty crew were killed and a hundred were wounded. This heartbreaking episode grieved the Israelis deeply, as it did us.

^ a b George Lenczowski, American Presidents and the Middle East, 1990, p. 110–112.
^ Navy Medal of Honor: Vietnam War (era) 1964–1975, citation for Captain William L. McGonagle, U.S. Navy, accessed May 15, 2006
^ a b c Even as USS Liberty's Heroic Captain Receives New Honor, Coverup of Israeli Attack on His Ship Continues, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 1998 Issue, Pages 26, 88
^ Congressional Medal of Honor Society, accessed June 20, 2007
^ Bernton, Hal, "Deadly attack on USS Liberty gets new attention", Seattle Times, June 9, 2009.
^ Scott 2009, p. 183
^ U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry USS Liberty pdf
^ Ram Ron Report Colonel Ram Ron, Israel Defense Forces Inquiry Commission Report, June 16, 1967
^ Yerushalmi Report
^ IDF History Report 1982
^ Navy Captain, Other Officials Call For Investigation Of Israel's Attack On USS Liberty WRMEA Delinda C. Hanley July/August 2003
^ Dean Rusk. As I Saw It. New York: W.W. Norton, 1990. ISBN 0-14-015391-8 page 388
^ Ennis 1987
^ "USS Liberty Memorial". Gtr5.com. 1967-06-08. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
^ a b "USS Liberty Veterans Association". Usslibertyveterans.org. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
^ Declaration of Ward Boston, Jr., Captain, JAGC, USN (Ret.) Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2004, page 10
^ http://www.thelibertyincident.com/docs/boston-comments.pdf
^ "Letter to Cristol from Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr". The Liberty Incident. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
^ The USS Liberty Attack, Anti-Defamation League, June 9, 2004.
^ Friendless Fire? United States Naval Institute Proceedings June 2003 Vol. 129/6/1,204
^ The Attack on the Liberty Hirsh Goodman and Ze'ev Schiff The Atlantic Monthly September 1984
^ DEAD IN THE WATER BBC Interview with Former Head Israeli Navy 1967, Admiral Shlomo Erell
^ http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/240/87/IMG/NR024087.pdf
^ Wellens, Karen; T.M.C. Asser Instituut (1990). Resolutions and statements of the United Nations Security Council (1946-1989): a thematic guide. BRILL. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-7923-0796-9.
^ Daichman, Josef (2001). Mossad: istoria luchshei v mire razvedki. Smolensk: Rusich.
^ Hot summer of 1967: The Israeli attack on America and the 'Soviet destroyer.' Pravda September 14, 2002
^ George Lenczowski, American Presidents and the Middle East, Duke University Press, 1990, p. 105–115, Citing Moshe Dayan, Story of My Life, and Nadav Safran, From War to War: The Arab-Israeli Confrontation, 1948–1967, p. 375
^ George Lenczowski, American Presidents and the Middle East, Duke University Press, 1990, p. 105–115
^ LBJ, National Security File, Box 104/107, Middle East Crisis: Jerusalem to the Secretary of State, June 8, 1967; Barbour to Department, June 8, 1967; Joint Embassy Memorandum, June 8, 1967.
^ Several Liberty crew members testified that they had briefly seen a periscope during the attack. In 1988, the Lyndon Johnson Library declassified and released a document from the USS Liberty archive with the "Top Secret—Eyes Only" security caveat (Document #12C sanitized and released 21DEC88 under review case 86–199). This "Memorandum for the Record" dated 10 April 1967 reported a briefing of the "303 Committee" by General Ralph D. Steakley. According to the memo, General Steakley "briefed the committee on a sensitive DOD project known as FRONTLET 615," which is identified in a handwritten note on the original memorandum as "submarine within U.A.R. waters." Further Freedom of Information Act requests returned no existence of a project called "FRONTLET 615". In February 1997, a senior member of the crew of the submarine USS Amberjack told James Ennes that he had watched the attack through the periscope and took pictures. According to the official ship's history from the Department of Defense, Amberjack's mission between 23 April and 24 July was reconnaissance within U.A.R. When contacted, four crewmen stated that they were so close to USS Liberty when it came under attack that some of the crew believed Amberjack itself was under depth charge attack. August Hubal, Captain of the Amberjack, insists that the vessel was 100 mi (160 km) from the Liberty and when told the crew believed they were closer replied "They must be mistaken". On July 2, 2003, as a result of a lawsuit using the Freedom of Information Act by Joel Leyden on behalf of the Israel News Agency requesting any evidence that the U.S. submarine Amberjack had gathered by means of its periscope, the National Security Agency stated that there had been "no radio intercepts made by the U.S. submarine Amberjack'". James Ennes believes that if the submarine photography exists, it should show that the ship's flag was clearly visible to the attacking fighters and torpedo boats.
^ Excerpt from Body of Secrets by James Bamford.
^ Memo from James Bamford regarding criticism of his charges.
^ Addendum to 2007 Edition, online statement, June 2007.
^ New evidence for American cover-up of Israeli attack on U.S. warship, BBC, August 6, 2002.
^ Press, Associated (2003-10-23). "Ex-Navy Official: 1967 Israeli Attack on U.S. Ship Was Deliberate". Foxnews.com. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
^ http://www.nsa.gov/liberty/liber00007.pdf[dead link]
^ http://www.nsa.gov/liberty/[dead link]
^ http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/audio_trans_104.pdf
^ http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/audio_trans_130.pdf
^ http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/audio_trans_105.pdf
^ http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/misc_reports/sigint_reflection.pdf
^ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1065773796483
^ William D. Gerhard and Henry W. Millington, National Security Agency, Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the USS Liberty, 1981. Top Secret Umbra. See page 41 of the report, page 49 of the pdf; see also footnote 4 on same page.
^ http://www.cryptome.org/nsa-liberty.htm[dead link]
^ Oren, Amir (2008-10-30). "War from the bottom up". Haaretz. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
^ http://www.thelibertyincident.com/docs/CourtOfInquiry.pdf
^ "The USS Liberty". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
^ Body of Secrets, by James Bamford, Doubleday, 2001 (ISBN 0-09-942774-5)
^ a b Israel's 1967 attack on U.S. ship deliberate, book says CNN, April 23, 2001
^ "USS Liberty attack tapes released". CNN. July 9, 2003.
^ Salans Memo pdf Salans Report September 21, 1967
^ Assault on the USS Liberty: Deliberate Action or Tragic Accident Colonel Peyton E. Smith March 30, 2007
^ The USS Liberty Attack Anti Defamation League
^ The Law of Air Warfare, International Review of the Red Cross. no 323, p.347-363 by Javier Guisández Gómez, 1998
^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 29
^ The Liberty Incident A. Jay Cristol p. 53.
^ Ennis 1987, pp. 95,96
http://ussliberty.org/report/exhibit%252010.pdf
http://ussliberty.org/report/exhibit%252011.pdf
^ Declaration of Ward Boston.

I have examined the released version of the transcript and I did not see any pages that bore my hand corrections and initials. Also, the original did not have any deliberately blank pages, as the released version does. Finally, the testimony of Lt. Painter concerning the deliberate machine gunning of the life rafts by the Israeli torpedo boat crews, which I distinctly recall being given at the Court of Inquiry and included in the original transcript, is now missing and has been excised.

^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 19


U.S. government sites

Gerhard, William D.; Millington, Henry W. (1981). "Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the USS Liberty" (PDF). NSA History Report, U.S. Cryptologic History series. National Security Agency. partially declassified 1999, 2003.
Additional information released by the National Security Agency on July 2003 and June 2008, including audio recordings (mostly in Hebrew) of conversations between two Israeli helicopter pilots and their control tower following the attack, transcripts of the recordings (in English), and follow-up reports, completed on 8 June 2007 by other reports.
Naval Historical Center, featuring photographs of the ship and crew, and the aftermath of the attack.
National Security Agency's Memorial Wall, including list of names inscribed on the wall.
White House Commission on Remembrance: USS Liberty, a U.S. Congressional initiative that honors those who died in the service of the United States.[dead link]
U.S. Navy JAG Corps investigations library contains links to record of proceedings for high-profile investigations, including the USS Liberty.
U.S. State Department library contains links to documents and messages related to the Six Day War and the USS Liberty attack.
NSA excerpt from U.S. Congressional Committee report containing the mis-handling of five messages directing the USS Liberty to move further out to sea.

Sources claiming attack was a mistake

US tapes confirm Israel's '67 attack on 'Liberty' was accidental
The Liberty Incident, by A. Jay Cristol
The USS Liberty: Case Closed Azure article by Michael Oren
Michael Oren's "Six Days of War." Ballantine Books, 2003, p. 263–271
Memos show Liberty attack was an error Haaretz article by Nathan Guttman
Return of the USS Liberty Critique of Bamford's "Body of Secrets" from Honest Reporting
Bamford Bashes Israel: Conspiracy Theorist Claims Attack on USS Liberty Intentional from the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The USS Liberty Attack from the Anti-Defamation League
USS Liberty: Israel Did Not Intend to Bomb the Ship by A. Jay Cristol
USS Liberty on www.sixdaywar.org
USS 'Liberty' hit was unintentional, says CIA

Sources claiming attack was deliberate

Survivors of the attack

USS Liberty Veterans Association website
USS Liberty Memorial, by survivor Jim Ennes. This site includes a wide variety of documents, photographs, statements by survivors, and responses to authors who argue that the attack was a mistake.
USS Liberty, by John Gidusko, former Electronics Material Officer aboard the USS Liberty before the attack.
Assault on Liberty Still Covered Up After 26 Years by Jim Ennes at Washington-Report
Dead in the Water BBC documentary (2002).
BrasscheckTV Documentary Video: "Loss of Liberty—The Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty"
43 Years After Surviving Israeli Attack on USS Liberty, US Veteran Joe Meadors Seized by Israeli Forces on Gaza Aid Flotilla - video report by Democracy Now!
The Assault on the Liberty: The True Story of the Israeli Attack on an American Intelligence Ship, online ebook.

Other sources

USS Liberty attack tapes released by David Ensor, CNN.
Chicago Tribune Article 2007
Israeli communications said to prove IAF knew Liberty was U.S. ship, Yossi Melman, Ha'aretz, October 4, 2007.
Captain Ward Boston (USN, Ret.), chief counsel to the Navy's Board of Inquiry interviewed on Electric Politics June 29, 2007
A Juridical Examination of the Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty by Lieutenant Commander Walter L. Jacobsen, JAGC, USN
USS LIBERTY: Public History vs. Dissenting History, by John Borne
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Israel Deliberately Attacked US Ship, Daily Star, January 21, 2004.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Lifting the "fog of war" by David Walsh
BBC Documentary Dead In The Water
U.S. Navy and Marine Casualties in Wars, Conflicts, Terrorist Acts, and other Hostile Acts
Telegrams Cast Doubt on Liberty Report, Navy Times, June 4, 2007 by Bryant Jordan
Conflicting comments rekindle Liberty dispute, Marine Corps Times, June 26, 2002, by Bryant Jordan
The Moorer Report. Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli Attack on USS Liberty, the Recall of Military Rescue Support Aircraft while the Ship was Under Attack, and the Subsequent Cover-up by the United States Government
War Crimes Committed against U.S. Personnel, June 8, 1967
8th June: Liberty Memorial Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 170 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4]

Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty,[5] though others have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[6]

A sworn affidavit is good enough evidence for a court of law a wiki page is a joke compared to that.




I, Ward Boston, Jr. do declare that the following statement is true and complete:

For more than 30 years, I have remained silent on the topic of USS Liberty. I am a military man and when orders come in from the Secretary of Defense and President of the United States, I follow them.However, recent attempts to rewrite history compel me to share the truth.

In June of 1967, while serving as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps, Department of the Navy, I was assigned as senior legal counsel for the Navy’s Court of Inquiry into the brutal attack on USS Liberty, which had occurred on June 8th. The late Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, president of the Court, and I were given only one week to gather evidence for the Navy’s official investigation into the attack, despite the fact that we both had estimated that a proper Court of Inquiry into an attack of this magnitude would take at least six months to conduct.

Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., then Commander-in-chief, Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR), at his headquarters in London, had charged Admiral Kidd (in a letter dated June 10, 1967) to “inquire into all the pertinent facts and circumstances leading to and connected with the armed attack; damage resulting therefrom; and deaths of and injuries to Naval personnel.” Despite the short amount of time we were given, we gathered a vast amount of evidence, including hours of heartbreaking testimony from the young survivors.

The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew. Each evening, after hearing testimony all day, we often spoke our private thoughts concerning what we had seen and heard. I recall Admiral Kidd repeatedly referring to the Israeli forces responsible for the attack as “murderous bastards.” It was our shared belief, based on the documentary evidence and testimony we received first hand, that the Israeli attack was planned and deliberate, and could not possibly have been an accident.

I am certain that the Israeli pilots that undertook the attack, as well as their superiors, who had ordered the attack, were well aware that the ship was American. I saw the flag, which had visibly identified the ship as American, riddled with bullet holes, and heard testimony that made it clear that the Israelis intended there be no survivors. 10. Not only did the Israelis attack the ship with napalm, gunfire, and missiles, Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned three lifeboats that had been launched in an attempt by the crew to save the most seriously wounded — a war crime.

There was no possibility that the USS Liberty didn't get their
orders correctly. There is no possibility that the USS Liberty
higher command put them in the wrong spot. There is no chance
at all that the IDF misidentified the location or the intent
of the vessel. No chance of any errors!



You see I know this because Israel has continuously attacked the
United States militarily every chance they get. As sworn enemies
it is only natural that the Israelis would intentionally target
us and try to kill everybody.

That is what they always do to Americans.



Clearly there is no chance of any mistake.

The whole "America is our friend" and Israel is our greatest ally
is all a huge super secret cover up while secretly Israel attacks
us and vice versa. It is all done underground and in tunnels so
that is why nobody knows about it. But you can check it on all
the Neo-Nazi websites and it was all foretold in the Protocols
of the Elders of Zion!

Slowhand if you honestly believe that Israel is your friend and feel better believing that then just go ahead and believe that.

But "wrong spot" or not, the USS Liberty had a flag waving, and the Israeli planes were UNMARKED. These unmarked planes shot up three flags that were raised on the ship. These are the facts you have to live with and your sarcasm is getting boring.

As usual, they were hiding who they really were. That is what they do. They pretend to be something they are not and they hide who they are. Mossad are a bunch of assassins. Everyone knows that. The IDL are a bunch of thugs. That is well documented by the FBI.

The CIA is not our friend either. They do not take orders from us. They do what ever their masters tell them to do including assassinating anyone they want.

Former Republican Congressman Paul Findley spoke the following words yesterday on the 45th anniversary of Israel’s deliberate attack on the USS Liberty:

June 8, 1967 is a day that will live in infamy. I am here to explain why. I state facts. I use plain language.

On that the day, the state of Israel, publicly posing as a close friend of the United States, almost succeeded in a deadly scheme to destroy a U.S. Navy ship and all sailors aboard, then blame the crime on an Arab government. Why? To stir American fury against all Arabs and bind America tightly in a permanent military alliance with Israel.

That scheme almost succeeded. Listen to the details.

The USS Liberty was an intelligence -gathering ship patrolling the eastern Mediterranean in the late days of the Arab-Israel war of 1967. Like today, America was Israel’s only major benefactor in the world. President Lyndon Johnson’s secret decisions that day played a major role in making the United States today subservient to Israel. Sadly, the facts remain little known.

The Liberty had only a couple of machine guns aboard.. Its identity was well marked. Its U.S. flag fluttered in a brisk breeze throughout bright daylight hours of June 8, 1967. During morning hours, unmarked aircraft closely circled the Liberty.

The attack began at 2 p.m. and lasted more than an hour. When Israeli aircraft shot Liberty’s U.S. flag to pieces, a larger one was immediately hoisted in its place. Flying low, the planes strafed the deck with rocket fire and napalm, disabled all antennae, punctured the hull with hundreds of holes. When the ship seemed doomed, life rafts made of rubber were lowered into the sea but fighter planes shot them to pieces.

An Israeli torpedo boat, firing at close range, blasted a hole thirty-nine feet wide, only inches above water line.

Miraculously, just before the ship’s electrical equipment went dead, Seaman Terry Halbardier crawled across open deck amid lethal strafing and strung a cable from a damaged antenna to the transmission cabin. This made possible the broadcast of a lone SOS appeal for help. Wounded by shrapnel during his crawl, Halbardier’s bravery saved the Liberty and crew from total destruction. One more torpedo hit would have sent the ship and crew to the bottom of the sea.

The distress message was heard aboard the USS Saratoga, a carrier patrolling near Crete. In response, the Saratoga launched fighter planes to defend the Liberty and reported the launch to carrier group commander Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis aboard the carrier America. Geis relayed the information to the White House.

Although aware the Liberty was still under attack, Johnson ordered Geis to cancel the rescue attempt. On the Saratoga’s bridge, distraught sailors watched as the U.S. fighter craft turned back. On the ship’s radio they heard final frantic pleas for help from the Liberty. Amid the pleas were background sounds of shells exploding. Minutes later, Israeli commanders, by then aware of the Liberty’s radioed plea for help, halted the attack.

Aboard the Liberty, 34 U.S. sailors were dead and 171 seriously wounded. Years later, two Navy veterans gave me details of the verbal exchange when President Johnson ordered the callback. Radioman Tony Hart, serving at a U.S. radio relay station in Morocco, listened intently to the entire conversation between President Johnson and Secretary McNamara in the White House and Admiral Geis at sea. This is what Hart recalls Secretary McNamara said to Geis, “Get those planes back on deck.” Geis replied, “But the Liberty is under attack and needs help.” McNamara shouted, “Get those goddam planes back on deck.” Aghast at the order, Geis, “Mr. Secretary, I wish to appeal that order to higher authority.” McNamara said, “I already have the president’s authority to call the planes back. He is right here.” Hart recalls Johnson then came on the phone and said to Geis, “I don’t care if the ship goes down, I’m not going to war with an ally over a couple of sailors.” The stunned admiral said, “Aye, aye, sir.”

Until his death, the admiral agonized over what, despite the presidential order, he might have done to help the Liberty crew.

Over the years, I have attended several reunions of Liberty survivors and remain in close communication with several of them. During a recent gathering, retired Commander David Lewis, the senior Liberty intelligence officer, provided new details. He was critically injured in the assault and, after being airlifted to the Saratoga sick bay, he was summoned to the private cabin of Admiral Geis to hear details of the call-back. The deeply shaken admiral told Lewis he feared he would be ordered to remain silent about his verbal exchange with the president and McNamara. He wanted Lewis, as a senior officer on the Liberty, to know exactly what was said.

Commander Davis told me, “Johnson’s order was probably the first time in history U.S. military forces were refused permission to help defend a U.S. Navy ship under attack.” Israeli officials, caught in a premeditated crime against a U.S. Navy ship, admitted the attackers were Israeli, then falsely claimed the assault was a case of mistaken identity. What a cruel lie.

Johnson acceptedIsrael’s lie without protest, although convincing evidence the assault was deliberate was already available at highest levels of his administration.

The president quickly dispatched Admiral Isaac C. Kidd and staff to carry out what from the start was a bogus Court of Inquiry. Before leaving. Kidd was instructed to issue a finding that cleared Israel of any blame.

Kidd and staff traveled to the Mediterranean, where the admiral personally threatened surviving crewmen, some of them still in hospital beds. Seaman John Hrankowski, one of the badly injured survivors, described the scene. “Admiral Kidd put on the stars and his uniform cap and said sternly: ‘If you tell anyone what actually happened, you will pay a fine, or go to prison, or worse.’” Hrankowski recalled: “We trembled. I was scared. He didn’t have to explain what the word worse meant.” After a week’s tour that included only limited, superficial interviews, Kidd’s group issued a finding that absolved Israel of any wrongdoing. Forty years later, retired Navy Captain Ward Boston, the chief legal officer who had traveled with Admiral Kidd, publicly confessed that both he and Kidd privately believed at the time of the inquiry the assault was deliberate. In a public, sworn statement distributed widely,Bostonstated that before the inquiry began, Johnson ordered Kidd to issue a finding that cleared Israel of blame. Even today U.S. officials cling to the fiction of mistaken identity, acting as if Boston’s confession never occurred. Official navy records have been scrubbed clean of any reference to the launching of rescue aircraft or their callback on presidential order.

Kidd, already a distinguished senior four-star admiral, should have refused the presidential order. He should have upheld time-honored tradition by refusing to engage in deceit. By telling the truth, the American people—and the Congress–would know of the crime committed by Israel and likely prompt our government to proceed carefully in any future dealings with Israel.



You may ask: Why would Israelaccept the high risk of public disclosure when it attempted to destroy the Liberty and its crew?

Commander Lewis told me he believes Israel wanted to sink the ship with no survivors, and then blame the crime onEgypt. This, he said, would create anti-Arab fury in theUnited Statesso intense Congress would declare war on Egypt and its Arab allies. Davisadded, “They wanted us to be in the war to consolidate their gains.

They feared that without active [U.S.] support [of Israel] world opinion would have forcedIsraelto withdraw from captured lands.” Lewis believes Israel’s scheme, if successful, would have locked America tightly and permanently with Israel and against Arabs.

Forty years later, the cover up was lifted but only slightly. Halbardier received the Silver Star medal for bravery.

In a supreme example of irony, Israel’s attempt to destroy the U.S. ship and crew did not damage the U.S.-Israeli relationship. The cover-up was so swift and so successful U.S. support of Israel’s war agenda actually emerged greatly magnified. After the Liberty assault, aid to Israel increased from a trickle to a rising flood–unconditional financial, military, and diplomatic support of Israel, ultimately costing America billions of dollars and hundreds of lives.

We are honored to have survivors of the Liberty with us today. I am a Navy veteran from World War II.

Retired men of the Navy, I am deeply ashamed at the government cover up that keeps the American people unaware of your bravery and sacrifice. Gentlemen, I salute you. You are among the U.S. Navy’s greatest heroes. Sadly, you are unsung heroes.
http://america-hijacked.com/2012/06/09/paul-findley-speaking-on-45th-anniversary-of-israels-deliberate-attack-on-the-uss-liberty/

He "believed" the Israelis thought they could sink one of the finest
US Intelligence vessels while making the USS Liberty believe it was
really the Keystone Cops?!!



There is no proof of any of it. Of course there is no dispute that
Israel targeted and hit the Liberty. It was a friendly fire
accident. And these individual speculations are not based on all the
evidence. See the Wiki for a more complete analysis rather than
speculation and blaming Israel unjustly.

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 170 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4]

Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty,[5] though others have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[6]

Based on all the evidence?

There is no better evidence than first person testimony

Ignore those witnesses to history tut tut move along nothing to see here folks.........

what "Evidence"?
Opinions by People is more like it!

Ask any Cop about "Eyewitness"-Testimony!

Sometimes, that is the worst evidence. Eyewitness accounts are valuable in explaining what happened, but often not why it occurred.



Oh, please.

An affidavit ( /ˌæfɨˈdeɪvɨt/ A-fə-DAY-vət) is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon oath. An affidavit is a type of verified statement or showing, or in other words, it contains a verification, meaning it is under oath or penalty of perjury, and this serves as evidence to its veracity and is required for court proceedings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affidavit

AFFIDAVIT

I, Ward Boston, Jr. do declare that the following statement is true and complete:

For more than 30 years, I have remained silent on the topic of USS Liberty. I am a military man and when orders come in from the Secretary of Defense and President of the United States, I follow them.However, recent attempts to rewrite history compel me to share the truth.

In June of 1967, while serving as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps, Department of the Navy, I was assigned as senior legal counsel for the Navy’s Court of Inquiry into the brutal attack on USS Liberty, which had occurred on June 8th. The late Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, president of the Court, and I were given only one week to gather evidence for the Navy’s official investigation into the attack, despite the fact that we both had estimated that a proper Court of Inquiry into an attack of this magnitude would take at least six months to conduct.

Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., then Commander-in-chief, Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR), at his headquarters in London, had charged Admiral Kidd (in a letter dated June 10, 1967) to “inquire into all the pertinent facts and circumstances leading to and connected with the armed attack; damage resulting therefrom; and deaths of and injuries to Naval personnel.” Despite the short amount of time we were given, we gathered a vast amount of evidence, including hours of heartbreaking testimony from the young survivors.

The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew. Each evening, after hearing testimony all day, we often spoke our private thoughts concerning what we had seen and heard. I recall Admiral Kidd repeatedly referring to the Israeli forces responsible for the attack as “murderous bastards.” It was our shared belief, based on the documentary evidence and testimony we received first hand, that the Israeli attack was planned and deliberate, and could not possibly have been an accident.

I am certain that the Israeli pilots that undertook the attack, as well as their superiors, who had ordered the attack, were well aware that the ship was American. I saw the flag, which had visibly identified the ship as American, riddled with bullet holes, and heard testimony that made it clear that the Israelis intended there be no survivors. 10. Not only did the Israelis attack the ship with napalm, gunfire, and missiles, Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned three lifeboats that had been launched in an attempt by the crew to save the most seriously wounded — a war crime.

seriously why do you even bother? The facts are clear and accurate This is an argument you cannot win becuse the facts are on the side of truth.

More Opinion?
Because you definitely don't have the Facts!
It's been 45 years,and some CTs are still flogging a Dead Horse!
Neither you,nor the Opinionists out there have the Facts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz1V_piTsrc&feature=related

I am just wondering why you think the survivors would lie and commit perjury? These were all fine men, one doesnt get posted to a sophisticated spy ship without being top gun........

I also wonder why no attempt was made to contact the ship since the flag according to the victims testimony was raised three times after being shot down again and again..........

Friendly fire???

Yeh right.

That's so very sad. ..and pathetic.

And Israel expects us to just accept that. (Those kind of friends I don't want and nobody needs.)

We will not forget. We will not forgive. And we will not believe the lies and B.S.

They think we are stupid --and they want us to think they are stupid and incompetent.

No one says they are lying. They just saw what they saw and have their
opinions wrong that they may be. They may have raised the flag. Some
of the Israelis may have seen it and some may not. After having so
many experiences of Arabs trying to disguise themselves perhaps they
did not believe but instead believed that the US would have told them
better if the ship was in the area.

They were top men. They were in the area to HELP Israel.
This is one of the reasons why Israel would NOT try to harm them.

Attempts to contact the ship were made and screw ups were made trying
to contact and direct the effort on both sides as you would see if you
read the Wiki article I cited multiple times and also the documents
it cites in turn.

But...in your irrational desire to slander Israel you ignore the
subjective evidence and inquiries and instead appeal to emotional
accounts of the attack and biased interpretations without benefit
of the other exculpatory information.

Seriously? While they are flying unmarked planes, you are claiming that they have had many experiences of Arabs trying to disguise themselves?

That is Israel's method of operation, not Arabs.



Israel DID try to and succeeded in harming them. What a ridiculous statement.

No, truth be told, the USS Liberty was a spy ship.

New revelations in attack on American spy ship
Veterans, documents suggest U.S., Israel didn't tell full story of deadly '67 incident

http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/eedition/chi-liberty_tuesoct02,0,43090.story

Four decades later, many of the more than two dozen Liberty survivors located and interviewed by the Tribune cannot talk about the attack without shouting or weeping.

Their anger has been stoked by the declassification of government documents and the recollections of former military personnel, including some quoted in this article for the first time, which strengthen doubts about the U.S. National Security Agency's position that it never intercepted the communications of the attacking Israeli pilots -- communications, according to those who remember seeing them, that showed the Israelis knew they were attacking an American naval vessel.

The documents also suggest that the U.S. government, anxious to spare Israel's reputation and preserve its alliance with the U.S., closed the case with what even some of its participants now say was a hasty and seriously flawed investigation.





Oh Please! Get real. You apparently have an irrational desire to defend Israel when declassified documents prove that Israelis knew they were attacking an American naval vessel.

BTW, slander is only slander when it is a lie. The truth is NOT slander.

So why would they do that or be ordered to do that?

I think the Israelis feared that the spy ship saw what they were doing and what they were doing was war crimes. Plain and simple.

Sorry you feel I am trying to slander Israel. In my mind I am shedding light on the truth without spin or propaganda or coverup.

From all the evidence I have seen it is an attempted false flag that didnt work and then the spin machine turned on to make it seem like some type of tragic blunder. The torpedo boats did not offer a surrender or truce to investigate the origin of the USS Liberty if that was in quistion. When it did not sink and an SOS was sent out they got cold feet and the spin machine had to kick in.

FALSE FLAG attempted and failed due to the heroics of the men of the USS Liberty .