USS Liberty veterans demand congressional investigation

[TheStripey1]

very strange... Does anyone have any information on this?

USS Liberty veterans demand congressional investigation

Jun. 3, 2007 12:00 AM

Conclusions submitted in October 2003 to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense by the USS Liberty Veterans Association, Inc., in demanding a congressional investigation into the aborted rescue during the attack of the USS Liberty and subsequent alleged cover-up.

The group also calls for a new Naval Court of Inquiry and that June 8 be officially recognized as USS Liberty Remembrance Day.


1. That on June 8, 1967, after eight hours of aerial surveillance, Israel launched a two-hour air and naval attack against USS Liberty, the world's most sophisticated intelligence ship, inflicting 34 dead and 173 wounded American servicemen (a casualty rate of 70 percent, in a crew of 294);


2. That the Israeli air attack lasted approximately 25 minutes, during which time unmarked Israeli aircraft dropped napalm canisters on USS Liberty's bridge and fired 30mm cannons and rockets into our ship, causing 821 holes, more than 100 of which were rocket-size; survivors estimate 30 or more sorties were flown over the ship by a minimum of 12 attacking Israeli planes which were jamming all five American emergency radio channels;

3. That the torpedo boat attack involved not only the firing of torpedoes, but the machine-gunning of Liberty's firefighters and stretcher-bearers as they struggled to save their ship and crew; the Israeli torpedo boats later returned to machine-gun at close range three of the Liberty's life rafts that had been lowered into the water by survivors to rescue the most seriously wounded;

4. That there is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire crew; evidence of such intent is supported by statements from Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Undersecretary of State George Ball, former CIA Director Richard Helms, former NSA Directors Lt. Gen. William Odom, USA (Ret.), Adm. Bobby Ray Inman, USN (Ret.), and Marshal Carter; former NSA deputy directors Oliver Kirby and Maj. Gen. John Morrison, USAF (Ret.); and former Ambassador Dwight Porter, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon in 1967;

...snip

7. That although Liberty was saved from almost certain destruction through the heroic efforts of the ship's captain, William L. McGonagle (MOH), and his brave crew, surviving crewmembers were later threatened with "court-martial, imprisonment or worse" if they exposed the truth; and were abandoned by their own government;

...snip


12. That a danger to our national security exists whenever our elected officials are willing to subordinate American interests to those of any foreign nation, and specifically are unwilling to challenge Israel's interests when they conflict with American interests; this policy, evidenced by the failure to defend USS Liberty and the subsequent official cover-up of the Israeli attack, endangers the safety of Americans and the security of the United States.





More information: www.ussliberty.org

 

[TheStripey1]

cmon gents and ladies... this was under a democratic president... surely you can dig up some dirt on this...

Do you think, as I do, that this incident has anything to do with Johnson not seeking a second term as president?

Do you think it is ok that the government has covered this incident up for decades?

Do you think the survivors are due an explanation?

How about the public?

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

http://www.ussliberty.org/
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=uss+liberty

Both parties are terrified of the Israel lobby, and few americans under the age of 50 probably even know of it, or if they know if it they don't know the controversy around it. I hadn't even heard of it until this year. So no, I don't think there will be any sort of hearings on it. The fact that such a long list of credible opinions have been ignored is amazing. This isn't just a bunch of tinfoil kooks with blurry photos like other conspiracy theories, but people still have a kneejerk reaction of "lol, conspiracy".

 

[theHawk]

cmon gents and ladies... this was under a democratic president... surely you can dig up some dirt on this...

Do you think, as I do, that this incident has anything to do with Johnson not seeking a second term as president?

Do you think it is ok that the government has covered this incident up for decades?

Do you think the survivors are due an explanation?

How about the public?

Wouldn't had mattered if it was Dimocrat or Repubs in power. The truth about Israel in this matter can never be revealed, because if it was Americans would be furious. The continuation of billions of U.S. tax dollars being funneled to Israel trumps all other concerns. Are any of the so called patriots here willing to push for a congressional investigation for this? Will any of you be willing to concede that Israel did this purposefully with the intent to draw America into fighting a war for them?

 

[TheStripey1]

Wouldn't had mattered if it was Dimocrat or Repubs in power. The truth about Israel in this matter can never be revealed, because if it was Americans would be furious. The continuation of billions of U.S. tax dollars being funneled to Israel trumps all other concerns. Are any of the so called patriots here willing to push for a congressional investigation for this? Will any of you be willing to concede that Israel did this purposefully with the intent to draw America into fighting a war for them?

Well hawk... Like the baron, I only learned of this incident this year...
But in order for people to call their reps and demand an explanantion, they would first need to know that it happened...

So when I saw this article about the USS Liberty's crew, I posted it. Seems that it hasn't garnered too much attention here or anywhere el;se i posted it and I just don't know why... maybe it's because it's an old story and/or maybe because there isn't that much information on the web about it... I just don't know...

Back in '67, johnson a democrat, was the president... I wasn't interested in politics then, so I couldn't even begin to tell you how well the rePERVlicans were doing in congress...

Have you called your reps yet and asked for an explanation or an investigation?

 

[theHawk]

Have you called your reps yet and asked for an explanation or an investigation?

I've written my Rep, Lamar Smith, what is going on with this. I'm waiting for the response.

 

[TheStripey1]

Let us know if he replies and what he says and I'll do the same if mine do...

 

[dilloduck]

I'm with Baron. Ain't gonna happen. The mideast is gonna blow again soon anyway.

 

[Ninja]

Everyone should at least take a look at the following link: http://www.nsa.gov/liberty/

There are certain people who will embrace any conspiracy and claim they're just being "open-minded" (this does not only occur with the USS Liberty, it happens all the time) but dismiss any possibility of the official story being the correct story. This is not being open-minded.

If you're intellectually honest, you will read the information at the NSA website and entertain the possibility that the Israelis may in fact have been telling the truth.

I have no doubt that some will dismiss the NSA link on the grounds that the Israelis control our government and were therefore able to force the NSA to host that material on its website.

As for me - I honestly believe that the attack on the USS Liberty was a case of mistaken identity.

Obviously "Whoops! Tee hee, sorry about that, thought you guys were Egyptians!" doesn't cut it. Not by a long shot.

I don't buy the theory that the crew of the USS Liberty had found out about the imminent Golan Heights invasion, and the Israelis wanted to eliminate them (along with their newly-acquired intel).

If Israelis truly are conniving, crafty backstabbers who have managed to hijack the American government, they'd probably also be able to sink a defenseless spy ship if they truly set their minds to it.

The fact that the USS Liberty wasn't totally destroyed is what leads me to conclude that it was a mistake.

One theory I've heard - Johnson/McNamara gave the Israelis permission to attack the USS Liberty and make it look as though the Egyptians did it, which would in turn give the US a pretext to invade Egypt.

Another theory: Egyptian UAR soldiers surrendered to Israeli paratroopers. The Israelis slaughtered them in spite of the fact that they had laid down their arms. The UAR soldiers managed to send out a radio message before they were murdered. The Israelis who killed the Egyptians were notified that the USS Liberty was in close proximity and may have either seen what had happened or picked up the radio transmission. Fearing what might happen w.r.t. American public support, someone high up in the IDF ordered the attack on the USS Liberty.

For the sake of the argument, let's pretend that there was no conspiracy involving Johnson and McNamara, and that Yitzhak Rabin and Moshe Dayan gave the orders to attack an American ship...

What exactly did Isreal stand to gain by attacking its most powerful ally?

And even if the US hadn't been Israel's ally - how dumb would it have been for them to preemptively attack one of the world's two hyperpowers, when the world's other hyperpower (the USSR) had already aligned itself with Israel's enemies?

For the record - I am NOT trying to apologize for what Israel did. I'm an American and not an Israeli (I am, however, a contrarian by nature and from time to time play the token Zionist around here); knowing that Israel killed 34 of my countrymen, whether accidentally or on purpose, makes me sick to my stomach. But - Israel was at war with 3 countries whose manpower and resources far exceeded its own, and I can understand how a situation like that might be conducive to a "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality.

That said, I would support an(other) investigation.

 

[actsnoblemartin]

are you talking about the sinking of a ship in the 60's by the Israeli's?

oh, and every cover up by the u.s. government, that goes both way, should be investigated, but not used to bash u.s., simply to learn from our mistakes.

 

[Ninja]

Bump.

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

What exactly did Isreal stand to gain by attacking its most powerful ally?

Framing the Egyptians? I don't know, just a theory. Or maybe LBJ had something up his sleeve. Putting boats perilously close to enemy waters and letting the other guys shoot first so you look like the good guy has been the modus operandi for several american wars.

 

[TheStripey1]

More information is coming out and this is but one... however I'm not familiar with this source...

40 years Later, Veterans of the USS Liberty Refuse to Give Up the Ship
Mark Glenn


There are definitely quite a few people–both in Israel and the United States–who would like the whole affair involving Israel’s treacherous and murderous attack on the USS Liberty to be forgotten, but for the survivors of that attack, amnesia is not an acceptable option. For them, the often-used term that so many hear today of ‘never forget’ means exactly what it implies–never forget–and as such they keep the memory of what took place that day alive.

This past June 8th marked the 40th anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty by the air and naval forces of the state of Israel, resulting in the deaths of 34 American servicemen and a cover-up that has been maintained throughout the entire period.

...snip

That evening, the last of the ceremonies took place, which was the banquet. A wonderful meal was served and there were addresses from several crew members of the Liberty, but most importantly, a member of the US Intelligence community (who insisted that his speech not be recorded nor his name mentioned) confirmed what the members of the Liberty have known all along–that Israel’s attack on their ship 40 years ago was neither an accident nor a case of mistaken identity, as Israel has falsley claimed these last 4 decades. He had the highest clearance possible in the US government and had seen all the raw intelligence dealing with the attack and was able to confirm conclusively that Israel knew the ship was American and that it was the intention of the Jewish state to sink her that day and kill everyone aboard.

...snip

 

[TheStripey1]

here's another... and it seems strange to me that only the "fringe elements" of our "liberal media news sources" are covering this story...

Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty, Revisited
Rockets, Napalm, Torpedoes & Lies

by Jeffrey St. Clair / June 13th, 2007



In early June of 1967, at the onset of the Six Day War, the Pentagon sent the USS Liberty from Spain into international waters off the coast of Gaza to monitor the progress of Israel’s attack on the Arab states. The Liberty was a lightly armed surveillance ship.

Only hours after the Liberty arrived it was spotted by the Israeli military. The IDF sent out reconnaissance planes to identify the ship. They made eight trips over a period of three hours. The Liberty was flying a large US flag and was easily recognizable as an American vessel.

A few hours later more planes came. These were Israeli Mirage III fighters, armed with rockets and machine guns. As off-duty officers sunbathed on the deck, the fighters opened fire on the defenseless ship with rockets and machine guns.

A few minutes later a second wave of planes streaked overhead, French-built Mystere jets, which not only pelted the ship with gunfire but also with napalm bomblets, coating the deck with the flaming jelly. By now, the Liberty was on fire and dozens were wounded and killed, excluding several of the ship’s top officers.

The Liberty’s radio team tried to issue a distress call, but discovered the frequencies had been jammed by the Israeli planes with what one communications specialist called “a buzzsaw sound”. Finally, an open channel was found and the Liberty got out a message to the USS America, the Sixth Fleet’s large aircraft carrier, that it was under attack

Two F-4s left the carrier to come to the Liberty’s aid. Apparently, the jets were armed only with nuclear weapons. When word reached the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara became irate and ordered the jets to return. “Tell the Sixth Fleet to get those aircraft back immediately,” he barked. McNamara’s injunction was reiterated in saltier terms by Admiral David L. McDonald, the chief of Naval Operations: “You get those fucking airplanes back on deck, and you get them back down.” The planes turned around. And the attack on the Liberty continued.

...big snip

The Pentagon lied to the public about the attack on the Liberty from the very beginning. In a decision personally approved by the loathsome McNamara, the Pentagon denied to the press that the Liberty was an intelligence ship, referring to it instead as a Technical Research ship, as if it were little more than a military version of Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso.


...another big snip

 

[Annie]

here's another... and it seems strange to me that only the "fringe elements" of our "liberal media news sources" are covering this story...

I'm assuming you mean those that think like the truthers and the neo-nazis? Yeah, you got that.

This is their new pet project.

 

[theHawk]

I'm assuming you mean those that think like the truthers and the neo-nazis? Yeah, you got that.

This is their new pet project.

Right, so anyone who dare questions why Israeli aircraft would be watching an American ship for 3 hours, then jam their radio frequencies and proceed to bomb the hell of out them, is a "neo-nazi" type.

 

[Annie]

Right, so anyone who dare questions why Israeli aircraft would be watching an American ship for 3 hours, then jam their radio frequencies and proceed to bomb the hell of out them, is a "neo-nazi" type.

Disagree on your take and literal interpretation. The whole Liberty thing has been brought up by those types of group, many who have since 'discovered' this incident, are not very questioning about what they are reading.