‘Son, I spent 2 years as a special agent in the FBI and over 30 yrs in the military, and if it is one thing I learned through all of this, it’s that when you get an order, you say ‘yes sir’ and carry it out with no questions asked’.
This was the response given by Capt. Ward Boston, USN (Ret) to this reporter in a series of recent interviews he gave for American Free Press Newspaper. For those not familiar with Capt. Ward Boston, he played what will one day be recognized as one of the most pivotal roles in recent human history. 40 years ago this upcoming June, he was the senior legal council for the Naval Board of Inquiry concerning the June 8, 1967 attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli Air and Naval forces that resulted in 34 Americans killed and 171 wounded. His job in 1967 was to be part of a hastily-called investigation into the attack, and–as he has recently revealed to the shock of many–to rule that Israel’s 90-minute bloodfest waged against America’s young men was all an ‘accident’ that occurred during ‘the fog of war’, all the evidence to the contrary be damned. In 2002, Capt. Ward broke his silence of 3 decades and released an affidavit to the public in which he admitted that the entire investigation was a sham, and that he was under orders (from persons of no less authority than President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara) to rule that the bloodiest day in American naval history since WWII took place as a result of ‘mistaken identity’ and that America’s ally, Israel–was innocent of any wrongdoing.
For 35 years Capt. Ward lived with the bitter knowledge that his fellow servicemen had been deliberately murdered in what was an act of war by a foreign power and yet because of the orders he received was powerless to say anything. A conflux of events however led him to make the decision to ‘damn the torpedoes’ and to let the chips fall where they may. ‘I’m an old man’ he told AFP. ‘They can’t threaten my job, and if they throw me into jail, so what? The truth has to be told for the benefit of the survivors and for the American people whose sons and daughters are dying today’.
The first of these events leading him to break his silence was the 2002 release of a book entitled ‘The Liberty Incident’ written by Judge Ahron Jay Cristol at a time when America was being drawn into a series of long-term military engagements with countries that just so happened to be enemies of Israel. Through his book and subsequent speaking tour, Cristol (a slavish, shameless, fanatical apologist for the Jewish State who is on more-than-friendly terms with a number of people in both the military and arms industry in Israel) did the usual song and dance when it comes to discussing the terrorist state that attacked America in 1967, which was to argue for unconditional acquittal, using a collage of sloppy yet deliberate misrepresentations and omissions of fact. In Capt. Boston’s words, it was Cristol’s ‘insidious attempt to whitewash the event that pushed me to speak out’.
‘These rats,’ he said, referring to Israel and her defenders. ‘They lie about everything. You can’t believe a word they say’ he told AFP. What was so important about this statement was that Capt. Boston was not just talking about the past, but about the present and future as well. ‘They’ve completely infested the entire Intelligence and Defense apparatus of the United States’ he said. ‘Perle, Feith, Wolfowitz, and all the rest of them…They’re spies for Israel, every damned one of them’ he said. most of my life did nothing about it. Can you imagine if these guys were Arabs?’ They knew all about it and yet our government, the government I worked for asked. ‘It’s been the same thing, ever since 1967’ he said with unmistakable aggravation. ‘Protect Israel, protect Israel…In the meantime, our boys are dying over there and those who don’t die are coming back here with all sorts of problems, both physical and psychological’.
It was his visit to Israel some years back that clinched it for this man in terms of his feelings for the ‘great experiment’ in Jewish self-rule. ‘The way they treat the Arabs…it’s unconscionable’ he said. ‘You go into Israel, into the only places where they allow the tourists, and it’s the picture of paradise, just as the Soviets used to do. Then you take a detour off the approved itinerary and you see what it is really like…The poverty, misery, abuse. Arab kids being gunned down in broad daylight. It’s worse than South Africa. Only a person with a ice water in his veins could see the way the Arabs are treated and not be outraged’.
As far as the future goes, Capt. Boston is not hopeful. ‘If either they (the Israelis) or the US launches a war against Iran, it will be the beginning of the end’ he said. ‘Armageddon…You’ll have Muslims pouring into the area from all over the world and no army will be able to stop them. They will tear Israel and the Americans to pieces.’
As far as his reaction to the predictable accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ that have been leveled against him for telling the truth concerning the attack on the Liberty, he laughs it off. ‘One of my closest friends growing up was Jewish’ he said. ‘I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. What we are dealing with here is an act of war initiated against the United States, the country I swore an oath to defend, period. If a proper investigation into the attack on the Liberty had been allowed to take place and the American people made aware of what happened, we would not be in the middle of this mess in the Middle East now.’
“13. I AM OUTRAGED AT THE EFFORTS OF THE APOLOGISTS FOR ISRAEL IN THIS COUNTRY TO CLAIM THAT THE ATTACK WAS A CASE OF “MISTAKEN IDENTITY.”
14. IN PARTICULAR, THE RECENT PUBLICATION [2002] OF JAY CRISTOL’S BOOK, THE LIBERTY INCIDENT, TWISTS THE FACTS AND MISREPRESENTS THE VIEWS OF THOSE OF US US WHO INVESTIGATED THE ATTACK.
15. IT IS CRISTOL’S INSIDIOUS ATTEMPT TO WHITEWASH THE FACTS THAT HAS PUSHED ME TO SPEAK OUT.” -jd
‘Smoking Gun’ for Claims of NCOI Testimony Tampering
K.J. Halliwell(July 10, 2008 — Revised August 27, 2008)
Ward Boston, Jr. (1923-2008).
Navy Captain Ward Boston was the senior counsel (i.e., legal advisor) for the NCOI (Naval Court of Inquiry) that investigated the USS Liberty attack. A few years ago, Captain Boston wrote and made public a signed affidavit that, in part, claimed the NCOI testimony transcript was tampered, after its submission, by amending or removing apparently troublesome testimony:
“… I know that the Court of Inquiry transcript that has been released to the public is not the same one that I certified and sent off to Washington.
I know this because it was necessary, due to the exigencies of time, to hand correct and initial a substantial number of pages. 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.”
Whether or not Captain Boston’s statements are true is unknown; although, at least one attack survivor, Lloyd Painter, who testified at NCOI proceedings, has publicly and repeatedly noted that part of his testimony — torpedo boats firing on empty life rafts – does not appear in the NCOI’s record of his testimony. Other than this, no others (known by this author) have publicly stated explicit claims that support Boston’s claims. Thus, one is left with reading and studying NCOI testimony for signs of possible tampering that might serve as material evidence to support Boston’s and Painter’s claims.
If one closely studies NCOI testimony, several instances can be found where individual (e.g., Ensign Lucas and LTJG Painter) testimony appears to contain chronological or event detail gaps, or seems to end abruptly; but these preceived anomalies may be due to unrealistic expectations of witness memory or other innocent causes, and not a true indication of tampering.
There is one glaring exception: a grossly out-of-order and somewhat unusual bit of testimony by LT Bennett appears on page 100 of the NCOI transcript. On page 100, it states that witness Bennett was recalled and reminded of his oath. Bennett answered one question, not related to his job function, and then he was promptly dismissed. Later, on page 114, it states that Bennett was called as a witness, took the oath, answered many questions related to his job function, and then he was dismissed. It is clear, from the NCOI record, that testimony was recorded in chronological order. So, LT Bennett’s chronologically out-of-order (recalled before being called) and job function unrelated testimony is at least extremely confusing and highly suspicious; and at most, it is a “smoking gun” that directly supports Boston’s claims.
A 75 minute attack using two wings and classes of aircraft, 3 torpedo boats on a clear sunny day is an "accident", The excuses of "liars and Israel First sycophants"
`Ray McGovern, former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses USS Liberty survivor Terry Halbardier’s belated Silver Star award, LBJ’s personal involvement in preventing military aid from reaching the besieged USS Liberty, two major theories explaining why Israel attacked the ship and Adm. Mike Mullen’s groundbreaking mention of the Liberty in an apparent attempt to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran.
Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years, from the John F. Kennedy administration to that of George H. W. Bush. His articles appear on Consortium News and Antiwar.com.
I write this testimony not just about me but about my shipmates as well, what they have told me about themselves. I look in the mirror and I am them.
I was a 20-year old sailor, loving life, enjoying seeing the world. I had great shipmates, family and friends. I was just an all around red-blooded American young man. At 2:00 on June 8, 1967 my life changed forever.
My ship, the USS Liberty, was deliberately and savagely attacked by our so called ally, Israel, in an attack that lasted about as long as the attack on Pearl Harbor. Our attackers knew exactly who they were attacking. They have admitted as much on film for all to see. The Israelis attacked their American friends anyway, murdering 34 brave, young sailors and marines and wounding 174 others. In this vicious attack they used rockets, canons, napalm, 50 caliber armor piercing bullets, and torpedoes against our helpless ship. Our ship was in international waters doing what our government had ordered us to do. We were no threat to anyone, especially Israel.
Our government recalled the lifesaving rescue aircraft sent to our aid from the USS Saratoga on orders from the chain of command from Admiral John McCain to Robert McNamara to LBJ himself. We were left out there on our own to have the Israelis do to us as they wished and they did. They shot at our life rafts to insure no survivors would be allowed; no one was to be left alive, which is in itself a war crime.
In this 2 hour attack the Government of Israel used jet aircraft, torpedo boats, and troop bearing helicopters against our ship. The helicopters left the scene just as they were getting ready to board our ship and finish us off. They left because of an incorrect message that help was on the way. What Israel left behind was a ship in distress with over 800 rocket and canon holes in her, thousands of armor piercing bullets in her skin, fire burning from the napalm and a 40 by 40 foot torpedo hole in her starboard side. We did not see any help from our government for about 18 hours after the attack, when help was only 15 to 20 minutes away. It was a disgraceful testament to the United States Government in its complicity with Israel to let them murder us all and blame it on Egypt. We put a monkey wrench into their plans. We didn’t sink as planned and we could identify our murderers.
Several days after the attack Admiral Isaac Kidd came aboard our ship to get testimony from the surviving crew. He got his testimony and we told him how barbaric our Israeli friends were to us. His stern and repulsive answer to us was to shut up and never repeat a word of this act of treason or the cover up of such by our government and the murdering Israelis.
Admiral Kidd’s order came from none other than Admiral John McCain, Jr., Senator McCain’s father. The orders were if any of us spoke a word about this attack to anyone, including our families, we would go to prison for the rest of our lives or worse and, of course, we all knew worse meant – death!
We were treated this way by our own government when we had served our country with dignity, honor, and courage. The Liberty crew is one of the most highly decorated crews in naval history. Our ship is second to none in battle damage.
The crew was dispersed. When I got discharged on Dec 12, 1967, my tour of duty was up. I wasn’t that same 20 year old young man with the rest of his life ahead of him anymore. I felt like I was 50 years old and with no future ahead of me. I was married at the time and had a baby on the way, living day by day with the Liberty monster on my back. I didn’t feel sorry for myself, but I didn’t feel good about myself, either. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I went to the VA and told them my problems the best way I could. I was turned away as a ‘malcontent’. They didn’t believe what I told them concerning what had happened to me. They said I was making this story up. They had never heard about the USS Liberty and said Israel would never do such a thing. Once again, my government let me down.
I went deep into the bottle. I was drunk most of the time. I was mean to my family, not just my wife, but my whole family–parents, brothers, sisters, everyone. Everything I could do destructive to myself, I did. Always chasing other women, fighting with who ever wanted a piece of me. I thought I was bullet proof. No one wanted to be around me, especially my now ex-wife, after 13 years of hell. The destructive life style stayed with me for about 20 years after the attack, still not knowing how to get out of the hell hole I had dug myself into.
Then, I read an article by Master Chief Stan White, a shipmate aboard the Liberty, which was in the Rocky Mountain News. I almost fell over! I thought no one would dare speak about the Liberty. I knew I hadn’t because of the fear of God the government had put in my soul. I then found out that a few survivors got together and were talking about the injustice that had befallen us. I was relieved to be reunited with my mates and found out through another shipmate, Ron Kukal that his life was also just like mine and he said to go back to the VA. They will help you, now. I was very reluctant to do so but I did and found a new door had opened for me. I found I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
How could our government betray its service men and allow Israel to get by with murder then, as they are doing to this day, by protecting them? The only explanation that makes sense is that one is just as guilty as the other. It’s disgusting and un-American.
I have been re-married now for 25 years. My wife never knew anything about the Liberty when I married her, but, she knows now. It has been extremely hard for her to live with me, just as it has been for all Liberty wives and families. We bring our nightmares upon them on a daily basis. The Liberty cover-up has destroyed so many good, loving, caring people. It’s heart breaking. Why do our families still love us? I don’t know but they do and they now understand how important that this piece of history be set straight in the books, where we are nowhere to be found, not the lies Israel and our government would have you believe. We are very lucky to be alive and loved by our families.
Phillip F. Tourney is a survivor of the USS Liberty, three-time president of Liberty Veterans Association and author of “What I Saw That Day“, his experiences of the USS Liberty attack.
Not hard to demonstrate Abe Foxman’s duplicity, dishonesty and hypocrisy. The ADL position on the USS Liberty attack and cover up is a cynical dishonest blueprint for apologias and lies. The US ‘Israel First’ media will never state this case. – jd.
Thoughts on Abe Foxman’s Speechlessness over Fareed Zakaria’s Return of the ADL’s Humphrey Award
By: EdwardTeller Sunday August 8, 2010
The dispute between Fareed Zakaria and Abe Foxman is not over. Foxman’s faux “shock” over Zakariah’s reaction to Foxman’s efforts to stop the building of an Islamic community center a few blocks from “ground zero” may be masking efforts by Foxman to have Zakaria exit by the same route as Helen Thomas and Octavia Nasr.
In response to Anti-Defamation League head Abraham Foxman’s statements last week, in which the latter both sought to exacerbate negative feelings 9/11 survivors irrationally hold toward Islam, and to further define Foxman’s take on Zionist exceptionalism, author and journalist Fareed Zakaria returned the Hubert H. Humphrey Award certificate and honorarium he had received five years ago from the ADL.
On August 2nd, Foxman wrote a column in which he sided with Sarah Palin and the larger neo-con community, urging the backers of the lower Manhattan community center plan to re-think their project, possibly moving it to another part of the island:
At its essence, our position is about sensitivity. Everyone — victims, opponents and proponents alike — must pay attention to the sensitivities involved without giving in to appeals to, or accusations of, bigotry. Ultimately, this was not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center would unnecessarily cause some victims more pain. And that wasn’t right.
Earlier, on July 30th, Foxman was quoted as saying:
Survivors of the Holocaust are entitled to feelings that are irrational. Their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted.
Zakaria reacted to the perception of inconsistency in the ADL position on the mosque with what he thought the ADL had long stood for, in a personal way. Here’s his complete letter:
Dear Mr. Foxman,
Five years ago, the ADL honored me with its Hubert Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. I was delighted and moved to have been chosen for it in good measure because of the high esteem in which I hold the ADL. I have always been impressed by the fact that your mission is broad – “to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens” – and you have interpreted it broadly over the decades. You have fought discrimination against all religions, races, and creeds and have built a well-deserved reputation.
That is why I was stunned at your decision to publicly side with those urging the relocation of the planned Islamic center in lower Manhattan. You are choosing to use your immense prestige to take a side that is utterly opposed to the animating purpose of your organization. Your own statements subsequently, asserting that we must honor the feelings of victims even if irrational or bigoted, made matters worse.
This is not the place to debate the press release or your statements. Many have done this and I have written about it in Newsweek and on my television show – both of which will be out over the weekend. The purpose of this letter is more straightforward. I cannot in good conscience hold onto the award or the honorarium that came with it and am returning both. I hope that it might add to the many voices that have urged you to reconsider and reverse your position on this issue. This decision will haunt the ADL for years if not decades to come. Whether or not the center is built, what is at stake here is the integrity of the ADL and its fidelity to its mission. Admitting an error is a small price to pay to regain your reputation.
Foxman’s reply is also worth a complete reprint:
Dear Fareed:
I received your letter today and must say I am not only saddened but stunned and somewhat speechless by your decision to return the ADL Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize, you accepted in 2005. As someone I greatly respect for engaging in discussion and dialogue with an open mind I would have expected you to reach out to me before coming to judgment.
ADL is the same agency you held in esteem then; we have never wavered from our mission since its inception in 1913. I know you know well the work we do to fight prejudice and discrimination and promote respect and understanding among all people.
I hope you have read our statement on the proposed Islamic Center at Ground Zero and, more importantly, understand our position. We did not oppose the right for an Islamic Center or a mosque to be built. What we did was to make an appeal based solely on the issues of location and sensitivity. If the stated goal was to advance reconciliation and understanding, we believe taking into consideration the feelings of many victims and their families, of first responders and many New Yorkers, who are not bigots but still feel the pain of 9/11, would go a long way to achieving that reconciliation.
ADL has and will continue to stand up for Muslims and others where they are targets of racism and bigotry, as we have done at the request of and on behalf of Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf.
I am holding on to your award and check in hope that you will come to see that ADL acted appropriately and you will want to reclaim them.
It is obvious that Foxman doesn’t get why Zakariah feels so strongly about this. Nor does Foxman understand how deeply his statements must offend supporters of the First Amendment.
As some readers here may know, I firmly back the strong belief of all the survivors of the assault on the U.S.S. Liberty by Israeli jets and torpedo boats, that the attack on their ship was as deliberate as was the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Did Foxman realize when he sided with Sarah Palin, that there has long been a mosque inside of the Pentagon? Or that, by applying his standard, one might suggest, in view of what Foxman terms “location and sensitivity,” that the Jewish Chapel, located within a block or so of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, be moved further away, so as not to offend the relatives of:
LCDR Philip McCutcheon Armstrong, Jr. Navy Cross.
LT James Cecil Pierce
LT Stephen Spencer Toth, Silver Star
CT3 William Bernard Allenbaugh
SN Gary Ray Blanchard
CT2 Allen Merle Blue
QM3 Francis Brown
CT2 Ronnie Jordan Campbell
CT2 Jerry Leroy Converse
CT2 Robert Burton Eisenberg
CT2 Jerry Lee Gross
CT1 Curtis Alan Graves
CTSN Lawrence Pasul Hayden
CT1 Warren Edward Hersey
CT3 Alan (NMN) Higgins
SN Carl Lewis Hoar
CT2 Richard Walter Keene, Jr.
CTSN James Lee Lenau
CTC Raymond Eugene Linn
CT1 James Mahlon Lupton
CT3 Duane Rowe Marggraf
CTSN David Walter Marlborough
CT2 Anthony Peter Mendle
CTSN Carl Christian Nygren
SGT Jack Lewis Raper, USMC
CPL Edward Emory Rehmeyer, III, USMC
IFCN David (NMN) Skolak
CT1 John Caleb Smith, Jr.
CTC Melvin Douglas Smith
PC2 John Clarence Spicher
GMG3 Alexander Neil Thompson, Jr.
CT3 Thomas Ray Thornton
CT3 Philippe Charles Tiedke
CT1 Frederick James Walton
It would be as foolish to start a movement to move the Jewish community center in Annapolis as it is to attempt to thwart construction of the Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. Neither the 9/11 attackers nor the planners of the attack on our men at sea in June 1967 represent the ideals of their faiths or the hopes of their communities.
I’m going to donate $10.00 to each project. Here are their donation pages:
Attacked by coordinated Israeli air and sea forces, Liberty heads for Malta, the cover up had already begun,
“On the fourth day of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the intelligence ship USS Liberty was steaming slowly in international waters, 14 miles off the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli armored forces were racing deep into the Sinai in hot pursuit of the retreating Egyptian Army.
Liberty, a World War II freighter, had been converted into an intelligence vessel by the top-secret U.S. National Security Agency, and packed with the latest signals and electronic interception equipment.
The ship bristled with antennae and electronic “ears” including TRSSCOMM, which delivered real-time intercepts to Washington.
It was to monitor communications of the belligerents in the third Arab-Israeli war: Israel and her foes, Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
To view the U.S.S
Liberty slideshow
exhibit (PDF), click here.
At 0800 hrs, 8 June, 1967, eight Israeli recon flights flew over Liberty, which was flying a large American flag. At 1400, waves of Israeli Mystere and Mirage-III fighter-bombers attacked with rockets, napalm, and cannon, concentrating on the ship’s antennae and electronic dishes. Liberty was left afire, listing. Eight of her crew lay dead, 100 wounded, including Commander William McGonagle.
At 1424, Israeli torpedo boats attacked, raking the burning Liberty with 20 and 40 mm shells. At 1431 a torpedo hit the Liberty amidships, where the signals intelligence systems were located. Twenty-five more Americans died.
At 1515, the crew were ordered to abandon ship. Israeli warships poured machine-gun fire into the life rafts, sinking two. As American sailors were being massacred, a rescue mission by U.S. Sixth Fleet carrier aircraft was aborted on orders from the White House.
An hour after the attack, Israeli warships and planes returned. Commander McGonagle gave the order to repel boarders, but the Israelis, probably fearing intervention by the Sixth Fleet, departed.
Liberty was shattered but defiant, her flag still flying. Israeli attacks killed 34 U.S. seamen and wounded 171 out of a crew of 297, the worst loss of U.S. naval personnel from hostile action since World War II.
Less than an hour after the attack, Israel told Washington its forces had committed a “tragic error.” Later, Israel said it had mistaken Liberty for an ancient Egyptian horse transport.
U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, and Joint Chiefs of Staff head, Adm. Thomas Moorer, insisted the Israeli attack was deliberate.
So did three CIA reports. One asserted Israel’s defense minister, Gen. Moshe Dayan, had ordered the attack. Reports that the savaging of Liberty was deliberate were hushed up by President Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. The White House and Congress accepted Israel’s explanation. Israel later paid a token reparation of US$6 million.
But surviving Liberty crew members would not be silenced. They kept demanding an inquiry and tried to tell their story of a deliberate attack to the media.
Israel’s government worked behind the scenes to thwart these efforts, going so far as having pro-Israeli groups accuse Liberty’s survivors of being “anti-Semites” and “Israel-haters.”
Major TV networks cancelled interviews with the crew. A book about Liberty by James Ennes was dropped from distribution.
The attack on Liberty faded into obscurity until last week, when intelligence expert James Bamford came out with Body of Secrets, his latest book about the National Security Agency. In a stunning revelation, Bamford writes that unknown to Israel, a U.S. Navy EC-121 intelligence aircraft, flying overhead, electronically recorded the attack. The U.S. aircraft crew provides evidence Israeli pilots knew they were attacking a U.S. Navy ship flying the American flag.
Why try to sink a vessel of a benefactor and ally? Most likely because Liberty’s intercepts contradicted Israel’s claim, made at the war’s start on June 5, that Egypt had attacked Israel,and that Israel’s air assault on three Arab nations was in retaliation. In fact, Israel began the war by a devastating, Pearl Harbor-style attack that caught the Arabs in bed and destroyed their air forces.
Washington had warned Israel not to invade Syria, which had remained inactive while Israel fought Egypt. Bamford says Israel’s planned offensive against Syria was abruptly postponed when Liberty appeared off Sinai, then launched once it was knocked out of action. Israel’s claim Syria had attacked first could have been disproved by Liberty.
Liberty’s intercepts also may have shown Israel seized upon rising Arab-Israeli tensions in May-June, 1967 to launch a long-planned war to invade and annex the West Bank, Jerusalem, Golan and Sinai.
Far more shocking was Washington’s response.
Writes Bamford: “Despite the overwhelming evidence that Israel attacked the ship and killed American servicemen deliberately, the Johnson administration and Congress covered up the entire incident.”
Why? Domestic politics. Johnson preferred to cover up the attack rather than anger a key constituency and fiscal backer of the Democrats. Congress was even less eager to touch this “third rail” issue. Commander McGonagle was quietly awarded the Medal of Honor for his and his men’s heroism — not in the White House, but in an obscure ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard. Crew members’ graves were inscribed, “Died in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
A member of President Johnson’s staff believed that Johnson offered Jewish liberals unconditional backing of Israel, and a cover up of the Liberty attack, in exchange for liberals toning down their criticism of his policies in Vietnam.
Israel, which claims it fought a war of self-defense in 1967, will be displeased by Bamford’s revelations. Those who believe Israel illegally occupies the West Bank and Golan will be emboldened.
More important, the U.S. government’s cover up of the premeditated attack on Liberty has now burst into the open and demands an investigation. After 34 years, the voices of Liberty’s dead and wounded seamen must finally be heard.”
One wonders who is next in the NAVAL LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES’ ‘hit list’ for not believing the blatant lies of A. Jay Cristol, criticizing Israel’s deliberate attack and speaking of an on going USS Liberty cover up? Some apologists state that the “incident” was 43 years ago, to just forgive and forget. That to continue to discuss the attack and cover up is “anti-Semtic” , “Israeli hate”, to sweep it under the rug and move on. And yet it is 43 years later and it is the Liberty apologists, these Israeli Firsters, the “duals’ and these sanctimonious hypocrites who initiated action to silence and remove a voice they did not approve based on their disloyal agenda in favor of a foreign country not of their birth. The USS Liberty attack is about injustice. Nor does it seem that these individual have a clue about duty, honor and country especially those who dare criticize Israel. -jd
I have been suspended from all Navy League functions for threatening the 501 (c)3 charitable status by using the Navy League to foster my USS Liberty agenda. This is not true and I am not anti-Semitic as stated.
Jim Ennes, the author of “Assault on the Liberty”, initially signed me up in the Washington state area and that seemed like a neat idea. Then, in the 2005 fall, I was asked to give a USS Liberty speech to the St. Augustine Navy League (SANL). I was warmly received and I liked this group of people. So, I moved my affiliation from Washington State to the SANL. As time passed, I enjoyed the interaction with the navy ships at Mayport, the navy air wing at Jacksonville Navy Air Station, the coast guard facility and ships at Mayport, the air wing at Cecil Field, and the Marine Logistics Command at Blount Island. As a matter of fact, I had the opportunity to go aboard the boomer, the USS Tennessee, and tour the boomer school at Kings Point, Georgia. I was having the time of my life and at every opportunity…
I was keeping the USS Liberty story alive. That was NEVER a hidden agenda.
Furthermore, when one of our members wrote a great navy story, “Heros of the Hook”, the SANL explored passing this book to the components we supported. I suggested that I could also supply a book entitled “Assault on the Liberty” and a DVD “Dead in the Water”. They were receptive to the idea. Then, I suggested that why don’t we collect used books, box them up, and give them to our typical components and also to every ship at Mayport. The SANL approved the project and I jumped to name it “The Captain William McGonagle Memorial Library” and I received overwhelming support. Since I started this project, over 5,000 books have gone through my hands to also include the USS Constitution and the USS Freedom LCS-1. When I presented my box of books to the respective command, I talked freely about Captain McGonagle, his Medal of Honor, and how he got us out of harms way. But, I discovered that if I indicated that the attack was a brutal and deliberate attack by Israel, I received a few irritated comments by a very few SANL members. If I was in a good mood, I refrained from mentioning Israel and if not, I gave the historical rendition. Nevertheless, my project was very successful and I was always warmly greeted at the ships quarterdeck. None of the commands ever complained about the USS Liberty story.
However, I was curious as to why SANL directors were not making any attempt to beat the SANL drum with Washington. Sea Power magazine cites positive actions by either personnel or councils. Ignoring the lack of notoriety, I was happy just giving back to the sailors and marines and that’s all that counted. As a matter of fact, I received a Presidents award in December 2009. One of the reasons I received the award was that I came to the aid of the USS Farragut DDG 99, an Arlie Burk destroyer. I was the SANL liaison. The ship had hit heavy seas and the Ward Room 46 inch LED TV came off its mounting and broke. They could not replace it and they asked me for help. So, I acquired $250 LVA support and raised $600 from SANL. Needless to say, everyone was very happy. My rapport with the Farragut was so good that when I came aboard I was piped aboard as “SANL arriving” or “Liberty arriving”. I was even invited to an overnight sail for a Tomahawk Missile Launch Test firing. I was given the Commodore quarters. Wow! During that cruise, the CTs, now called Cryptologic Technicians which make up the Electronic Warfare Division, asked that I give them a USS Liberty briefing in THEIR spaces. I have been flying very high as a member of the SANL.
Ending 2009, I was elected Vice president for Military Affairs; continued to carry my USS Farragut liaison duties; and, continued the Capt. William McGonagle Memorial Library project. Then, my trouble started with out new elected SANL President on Jan. 1, 2010.
At our February meeting, he invited a Lt. Colonel Ranger who had been very much involved in fighting the fanatical Islamics. He spoke three of their languages fighting them in Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa. He was very much into their mind set. When he finished, I asked a hypothetical question. I said, “I deeply respect what you do and I deeply appreciate your service to our country. As a USS Liberty survivor, most of us have become students of the Middle East to attempt to understand what happened to us. I have completed much research and I believe we are facing a religious war. Therefore, if we stopped supporting Israel and told them to make peace with the Palestinians, would the fanatical Islamics stop coming after us.” Before I could get my question asked, our new President jumped all over me and said, “We will have none of that”. But at the same time, others at the council shouted for me to ask the question and I did. While I was angry, I did not say anything as I planned to talk with the SANL President after the meeting privately. However, towards the end of the meeting he publicly trashed my Middle East politics and indicated that I was an anti-Semite. I demanded a public apology and never got it and he saw to it that I was drummed out of the SANL. I have learned there were others who also were tired of me trashing the good name of Israel. Or, was I telling the truth of the Liberty attack and they did not want to hear it anymore?
Before I close, I also want to say that they have engineered this dismissal so that I cannot speak to the SANL board of directors or the council itself. Fair? No, just label him anti-Semtic and kick him out.
On April 30th, 2010, I visited the Navy League Headquarters to determine if the SANL President and the All Florida President can ban me from all Navy League functions. The individual I talked with began by giving me a lecture indicating that the USS Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) has been a thorn in their side for years. Needless to say, I knew I was not going to get any help. In fact, the individual said I should read Jay Crystals book on the attack.
The basis for their lack of empathy comes from their belief that the attack was accidental. That is, they acquired their position from Judge Jay Crystal and his book. They believe he is a much respected Federal Judge. With that I knew I was in trouble. I countered and indicated that his book is full of lies, half truths, and incorrect statements and I gave them examples. I was also told that Admiral Thomas Moorer did not help by convening an investigative panel indicating that the attack was deliberate. He was very critical of Admiral Moorer.
With that statement, I understood why the LVA has been a problem for them. That is, the Navy League wants to believe that the attack was accidental and therefore, we should also. I pleaded with him to read James Scott book “The Attack on the Liberty”. Nevertheless, I indicated that the SANL board of directors had not say in my termination and I did not feel that was fair. While he would not commit one way or the other, he did indicate that I should “work it out with the board”.
The All Florida President and the SANL President has forbidden the SANL board of directors to discuss my termination or reinstatement. Therefore, to all of you, please keep this in mind if you are involved with the Navy League. I could use your help.
# Call to Order– President [William] Korach called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.
Pledge of Allegiance/Announcements – President [William] Korach led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. New member David Beauchamp led the group in prayer.
President’s Remarks – President [William] Korach reported that Ernie Gallo had been suspended from SANL as of 7:00 pm April 8, 2010. The action was taken in order to insure the unity of the Council through fair application of the rules for Council dialogue. The suspension was enacted by Florida Regional President Dudley and supported by NEFA President Sullivan. NLUS President Branch was informed. The immediate cause for the suspension was related: Ernie had asked for a meeting with President Korach, to be witnessed by Bill Dudley. Prior to the meeting, he told Bill Dudley that he wanted to be reinstated in his positions as VP of Military Affairs and liaison for the Farragut. Ernie had resigned these positions at the March 4th Board of Directors Meeting and his resignation was accepted. At that time, he said he would continue his membership and with his donor library. When Ernie asked for the meeting, President Korach accepted with the proviso that the SANL positions had been filled and he would not reinstate Ernie in those positions. At the April 1st meeting with SANL President Korach and FL Regional President Dudley, Ernie insisted on reinstatement in the positions he had resigned. He said that if he were not reinstated he would use his position in the Liberty Survivors Association and other associations to disparage and damage the honor and reputation of the Navy League. Ernie stated that he had and would continue to warn Commanding Officers of ships going into the eastern Mediterranean that they should be aware of a possible attack by Israeli defense forces. Ernie said that he was acting as a private citizen when he made these statements, but he was on these ships as a representative of SANL, [As a USS Liberty survivor first - jd]thus implying that the Navy League had information of endangerment to the ships. President Korach felt the case couldn’t be made that he was acting as a private citizen in these circumstances, that his threats were shocking, and that serious ramifications would result if the action continued.[What utter nonsense. Just who is this person trying to fool? or impress - jd] Using the Navy League as a platform to express personal opinions is against national and local by-laws. President Korach stated that Ernie’s regard for his USS LIBERTY Captain McGonagle had never been an issue [Yeah right -jd], but in all matters, SANL must carry out the aims and directives as established by the National BOD of NLUS. Personal and political matters must be expressed in another forum. President Korach related the events that led to the current state of affairs, stating Ernie’s experience in the June, 1967, Israeli attack on the Liberty and his resulting regard for honoring the memory of his Commanding Officer. President Korach repeated that this had never been an issue, but using the Navy League to express personal opinions is in violation of national and local by-laws of the Navy League. President Korach related instances during the past three years where Ernie had made objectionable anti-Israeli statements when speaking at Navy League functions. President Korach had discussed objections to this action with Ernie and with Past President Turowski, but the statements continued. The matter has escalated since the SANL meeting in February when Army LtCol Wolfe spoke. In the Q&A period after the meeting, Ernie began to talk about the threat of Israel, and President Korach silenced him. Discussions since that time resulted in Ernie’s suspension from the Navy League. In a recent response to his suspension, Ernie sent a letter to FL Regional President Dudley, expressing a desire to be reinstated, to continue being a loyal member of SANL, and to continue his work providing books for the Captain McGonagle Libraries on the SANL sponsored ships. Within the next five days, the two men will meet. The outcome of this meeting will be known at the next scheduled meeting. President Korach expressed hope that the situation will be resolved according to the charter and by-laws of SANL, then, at 6:15 pm, opened the floor for questions, saying that he, NEFA President Sullivan, and Regional President Dudley, would answer. Past President Turowski took the floor, declaring he thought the occasion was a set-up of Ernie Gallo, a patriot, and that the entire argument started over anti-Semitism. He felt the SANL BOD had not been consulted in this decision and declared he, himself, to be very angry over the situation, saying that Ernie was a good man who was not anti-Semitic and that President Korach was doing Ernie an injustice. He challenged the suspension because it had not been a decision of the SANL BOD, but had been made by FL Regional President Dudley. After Past President Turowski made personal statements to President Korach, resigned from the SANL finance board, and continued with statements unrelated to the current issue, members began protesting. Chaplain Marziani identified the issue as being that a member cannot hijack SANL for a personal platform and that we can’t hold personal grudges. He stated that Ernie was seventeen years old at the time of the Liberty incident and was severely wounded emotionally by it. He said that it was wrong to picture Israel as a current threat to the world. [A month later Israeli commandos stormed a multi-national humanitarian flotilla in international waters , killed 9 civilians including a US citizen shot 4 times, injuring 2 more -jd] As a qualified Christian minister[Zionist?-jd] and counselor, Chaplain Marziani offered personal counseling to help Ernie resolve his feelings and find healing in the Liberty matter. In a decision supported by SANL Judge Advocate Roth, as a suspended member, Ernie was not allowed to address the meeting and left the room.”
End
Let’s chuck the First Amendment and to hell with dissent and honesty and truth and turning the other cheek when we speak of Israel and speak of truths or ‘rock the boat’ with uncomfortable truths. We instead get intolerant, petty, spiteful and vindictive the Naval League of the United States for Israel way.-jd
One of the best picture slide shows and presentations of life on the USS Liberty and aftermath. Many rarely seen photographs and documentation. Well worth your time. It visually demonstrates the vast damage of the attack of June 8th, 1967. Remember the USS Liberty!
No wonder there was and is a cover up. It is best watched in FULL SCREEN and IMO in ‘slide show’ mode below.
34 dead, 174 wounded forsaken, forgotteen and ignored for "40 pieces of silver".
The attack on the USS Liberty is one of the great enigmas of US-Israel relations. On June 8, 1967, in the middle of the Six-Day War, Israeli planes attacked an American spy ship, the Liberty, that was in international waters off the coast of Egypt, listening in on secret communications. The attacks appeared to be deliberate, involving numerous passes on a clearly-marked American boat, strafing and napalming. The attack killed 34 Americans and produced very little by way of investigation. It was deemed an accident from the start, although many American officials doubted this conclusion.
[With the Liberty] the United States had the capability to intercept and decipher VHF and UHF radio frequencies, common frequencies used for government and military communications…
In the case of the Liberty, the White House, afraid of offending Israel’s domestic backers at a time when it needed support for its Vietnam policy, looked the other way….
Hints of disbelief did emerge, often from small newspapers outside the Beltway. Many puzzled over how Israel’s exceptional military could make such a blunder…
[T]he overall lack of criticism of Israel baffled some senior government leaders. The dogged press corps consistently challenged the administration on its Vietnam policy and ambitious social programs. In the case of the Liberty, the press aimed most of its critical questions at the American government. Israel in contrast enjoyed a reprieve. Reporters soon adopted the phrase ‘accidental attack,’ a description that frustrated Pentagon officials, who felt it minimized the ferocity of the sustained assault that had killed or injured two out of every three men on board…
“We were quite convinced the Israelis knew what they were doing,” [Thomas Hughes, director of the State Department's Intelligence office] later said. “It was hard to come to any other conclusion.” Other senior staffers agreed, believing that Israel did not want the United States reading its wartime message traffic….
Despite Jerusalem’s close ties with Washington, many State Department officials–and others in the intelligence community–believed the Jewish state’s survival instinct was so strong that, if necessary, Israel would attack a close ally in the interest of self-preservation…. [According to William Wolle, former State Department:] “The feeling of those of us at the working level in NEA [State Department Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs] was that the Israelis had deliberately done this so that we couldn’t read all of their communications, etc. We are their ally but they are not going to trust us when it comes to a wartime situation in terms of what information might get out, what we might pass along to someone. We all felt it was no accident.”…
Soon after the Liberty attack, [National Security Agency director Lieutenant General Marshall] Carter appeared before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee to discuss the Liberty. [Deputy Secretary of Defense] Cyrus Vance joined him… “Cy Vance just told me to keep my mouth shut,” [Gerard] Burke [Carter's chief of staff] recalled his boss telling him…. “There was absolutely no question in anybody’s mind that the Israelis had done it deliberately,” Burke said. “I was angrier because of the cover-up… The only mystery to me was why was the thing being covered up.”…
Some of President Johnson’s advisers later regretted the handling of the attack. “We failed to let it all come out publicly at the time,” said Lucius Battle, the assistant secretary of state for near eastern and south Asian affairs. “We really ignored it for all practical purposes, and we shouldn’t have.” George Ball, the former undersecretary of state prior to [Nicholas] Katzenbach, wrote that the Liberty ultimately had a greater effect on policy in Israel than in the United States. “Israel’s leaders concluded that nothing they migth do would offend Americans to the point of reprisal,” Ball wrote. “If America’s leaders did not have the courage to punish Israel for the blatant murder of American citizens, it seemed clear that their American friends would let them get away with anything.”
The Israel Firsters – USS Liberty apologists never stop throwing the USS Liberty survivors and families under the bus. Israel and the US government have to even after 43 years. Increasing public awareness require it. Just who and what do they really serve? The interests of the US Navy?, the people who serve and served are susceptible to political retribution as well when they state their opinion, truths and personal experiences? Is the First Amendment secondary? No where is the League’s mission or it’s membership requirements does it state USS Liberty members need not apply or “Thou shall always follow the “official line’”on Israel and the USS Liberty attack.
“Naval League of the United States”, my ass. You must be so proud Mr. Korach.
Perhaps in celebration the Naval League of the United States and its Florida directors and the (NLUS) St. Augustine Council will grovel and ask Israeli permission to display the helm and bell of IDF Navy motor torpedo boat #23, (MTB) that fired the torpedo that killed 25 Liberty crewmen that Israel publicly displays in its own Naval Museum in Israel for permanent display at its Washington D.C. headquarters? Or rotate it around to ‘deserving’ NLUS Councils as a reward? I wouldn’t put it past them. After all…they “don’t want to embarrass” Israel. Nor speak honestly about history. Not allowed.
Just how in the hell can the Naval League of the United States (sic) promote and protect the US Navy and its personnel when it won’t even protect the Constitution, the Bill of Rights (First Amendment) and members for political expediency and agendas of another foreign country and a complicit US government? Hypocrites, dishonest gutless REMFs. -jd
“Loss of Freedom of Speech and My Navy League Termination
Ernie Gallo, a hero thrown under the bus for political expediency. His crime?.. He told the truth.
I am a loyal American and a survivor of the June 8, 1967 deliberate and vicious Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, the most decorated Navy ship since WWII. The Presidential Unit Citation and 246 metals were awarded to include the skipper who received the Medal of Honor. Unbelievably, the Israeli and U.S. government lied indicating that the attack was an accident. Some senior U.S. government officials and the Liberty crew know differently. Unfortunately, this state lie implies that we are anti-Semitic because the incident involves Israel. In seeking justice, I give speeches indicating the truth, evidence, and the fact that 34 Americans were killed, 174 were wounded, and the attempted murder of 294 Americans (torpedo attack) by Israel. We have irrefutable proof that Israel knew this intelligence ship was U.S. before and during the attack in international waters.
I was asked and gave a presentation to the St. Augustine Navy League (SANL). My speech was warmly received and as of November 2005 I became an enthusiastic SANL loyal member.
I have undertaken numerous tasks during my membership. One of the projects I suggested and successfully initiated was the “Captain William McGonagle Memorial Library”, named after the USS Liberty skipper. New and used books were gathered and distributed to SANL support components and to every ship at Mayport. I have distributed over 5,000 books. When a box of books was presented to a command, I talked freely about Captain McGonagle, his Medal of Honor, and his courageous efforts to get us out of harms way. When I stated that the Israeli attack was brutal and deliberate (a historical fact), I received a few irritated comments by a few SANL members. None of the military commands ever complained about the USS Liberty story. Based on what happened to us, my fear is that it could happen again and Admiral Mullen agrees.
Ending 2009, I was presented with the SANL Presidential award and elected Vice president for Military Affairs by the membership. In addition, I continued to carry out my USS Farragut liaison duties and the Capt. William McGonagle Memorial Library project.
On January 1, 2010, a new SANL president took over. This individual, an Israeli supporter, found my Israeli statements offensive and in February attempted to officially curtail my freedom of speech. When I sought justice, I was kicked out as requested by the new president and eventually supported by the Northeast and all Florida presidents, and Washington Navy League officials. (FYI: Navy League Headquarters indicated that I should believe the attack was accidental as they do.) Upper level managers supported the hierarchy chain of command rather than review my past record or my first amendment rights. After total support since 2005, my membership was suddenly terminated and I was forbidden to participate in future Navy League events locally and all of Florida. This was arranged so that I could not speak to the council to defend myself. In fact, while in my presence, I witnessed speeches indicating I supposedly stated that I wanted Israel wiped off the map, I was anti-Semitic, and I was mentally sick for not supporting our ally. The SANL president and the all Florida president who is also the St. Johns Veterans Council Chairman indicated that if I never talk about the USS Liberty again and be placed on six month probation, I could return to SANL without resuming my elected position. I refused reaffirming that I did nothing wrong.
The prior SANL president was viciously criticized for his support of me by the current SANL president and Florida aforementioned superiors which resulted in his SANL council resignation. This individual, a retired Navy Chief, was one of the most caring, active, effective, and proficient SANL members. SANL cannot dispute his documented hard work.
America must come to grips with the lack of U. S. government honesty by placing a foreign country and their supporters above the murder of 34 Americans and USS Liberty survivors’ military service. Truth is the benchmark for honest government — no matter how difficult it is. These attributes should also pertain to the Navy League. God bless America.
The USS Liberty damaged technical research ship Liberty (AGTR-5), 9 June 1967 as seen from USS Davis
“The White House knew within minutes of the USS Liberty attack, that the perpetrator was really Israel. On two separate occasions, the White House recalled aircraft rescue missions for the Liberty. On the last attempt, LBJ told Rear-Admiral Lawrence Geis of the Sixth Fleet, “I WILL NOT EMBARRASS OUR ALLY.” The Liberty was then left “dead in the water,” without any assistance for over 16 hours.”
On June 8, 1967, the Israelis attacked the USS Liberty, in international waters, 13 miles off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula, and tried to sink it, and kill all 294 American on board the spy ship (“Assault on the Liberty,” James M. Ennes, Jr. and James Bamford’s “Body of Secrets.”) The Israelis then falsely claimed it was just a case of “mistaken identity.”
However, according to Peter Hounam, the author of the expose’, “Operation Cyanide,” the murderous Israeli attack was a set up to blame the Egyptians and bring the U.S. into the 1967 war on their side. The Liberty was a “sitting duck” for the Israeli jet planes’ missiles and rockets and their torpedo boats. The attack lasted at least 75 minutes, killing 34 brave Americans and wounding 172 others. Liberty survivor, Petty Officer Ernie Gallo, said, “I mean for a group of people, who are suppose to be the children of God, (the Israelis), they didn’t show any mercy for us.”
Both Captain Ward Boston, an ex-Navy attorney, who participated in a Court of Inquiry, with respect to the Liberty, and Admiral Thomas Moorer, a former Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff, (who recently died), believe that President Lyndon Baynes Johnson ordered a massive “cover-up” after the attack by the Israelis (10/23/03, CBSNews.com.)
On first hearing of the Liberty attack by allegedly “unidentified aircraft,” the U.S. launched planes from the Sixth Fleet carriers, then located in the Mediterranean, off Crete, armed with nuclear weapons. They were headed for Cairo to retaliate. Only minutes before reaching their target, they were recalled. Why? The Israelis had failed to sink the Liberty! The Zionist predators had mistakenly believed U.S. planes were also on their way to rescue the Liberty, so they were forced to stop their assault. Only then, did they admit to the U.S., that they were the culprits.
According to Hounam’s research, the White House knew within minutes of the Liberty attack, that the perpetrator was really Israel (p. 94). On two separate occasions, the White House recalled aircraft rescue missions for the Liberty. On the last attempt, LBJ told Rear-Admiral Lawrence Geis of the Sixth Fleet, “I WILL NOT EMBARRASS OUR ALLY.” The Liberty was then left “dead in the water,” without any assistance for over 16 hours. (See also, an excellent documentary of the same title by the BBC and affidavits and statements found at USSLiberty.org.)
At pp. 267-268, Hounam said, “Sinking the Liberty and blaming Egypt and the Soviets would have freed Johnson’s hand to do almost anything – even to drop an atomic bomb on Cairo. Trouble only arose when the Israel operation failed – and the damned ship stayed afloat.”
Hounam revealed that within LBJ’s hawkish administration, there was shadowy clique that met under the rubric of the “303 Committee.” Richard Helms, the late CIA Director, said that entity was, “A device for examining covert operations of any kind and making a judgment on behalf of the President, so he wouldn’t be nailed with the thing, if it failed.”
Out of the “303 Committee,” came a project labeled, “Frontlet 615,” which was furthered defined as, “A secret political agreement in 1966 by which Israel and the U.S. had vowed to destroy (Egypt’s Gamal Abdel) Nasser.” The military name for the operation was, “Operation Cyanide.” The U.S. also had a draconian plan, entitled, “Condition November,” a strategy for a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. All of the above ended up being interwoven into the tragic saga of the Liberty.
LBJ was an extremely ambitious man, who was, in 1967, seeking reelection. The Vietnam War was going badly for him and his popularity was plummeting. He had surrounded himself with Zionist zealots, like the late Walter Rostow, his Special Assistant for National Security Affairs.
LBJ & Walter Rostow. Rostow was rabidly pro-Israel and a Zionist. Rostow was LBJ's front man with the Israeli Embassy after the attack. The Israel government could not have had a more sympathetic man. It wasn't an accident just like the attack wasn't.
Here is how Hounam described Rostow, “A sinister, Svengali-like figure, or simply the biggest and best fixer? Of all the people in Johnson’s entourage, he was crucial in determining which way the U.S. might respond to the threatened hostilities in the Middle East… Rostow was a hawk who believed in the justness of the Vietnam War and, as a Jew, his Zionism was strongly felt and expressed…(He) had daily contact with the President. This gave him especially close access.” He had acquired enormous influence running the committee (303 Committee) that sanctioned covert operations by the CIA. He also knew in taking Israel’s side on most issues he was playing to the President’s tune. He described Johnson as the ‘most pro-Semitic man’ he had ever met.” Rostow was also an “advisor” to LBJ when he used the phony “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,” in 1964, to launch the U.S. into the disastrous Vietnam War.
“Just imagine for one moment, if an individual dedicated to putting America’s interests first – before the interests of the Zionists – had been the U.S. President on June 8, 1967. Instead of recalling our aircrafts that were on their way to rescue the Liberty, he (or she) would have ordered them to continue on their mission, not only to defend the Liberty and to stop the massacre, but to retaliated against the Zionist aggressors by bombing their naval base at the port of Ashdod, their military headquarters at Tel Aviv and Haifa, and for good measure, dropping a few MX missiles on Dimona, their secret nuke-making plant, located in the Negev desert. If, only?”
What kind of man was LBJ? Well, here is what the distinguished British statesman, Denis Healey, one of his contemporaries, had to say about him: “LYNDON JOHNSON WAS A MONSTER. He was one of the few politicians with whom I found it uncomfortable to be in the same room. He exuded a brutal lust for power which I found most disagreeable…” (p. 131).
There’s a Viet Nam Wall with 58,000 names that should be called LBJ’s Gulf of Tonkin Wall. -jd
As a result of the Six-Day War, the Israelis illegally seized vast areas of land belonging to Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian people. It also began being armed by the U.S. and treated as a strategic ally. Since 1967, Donald Neff pointed out (WRMEA, 08/02), Israel has also received enormous amounts of U.S. aid. Incredibly, it is “many times over the cost of the Marshall Plan to regenerate Western Europe after WWII.”
Query: Why are we giving billions of dollars of foreign aid to a country, Israel, that deliberately attacked and tried to sink our vessel, the Liberty, and that continues to make us more enemies in the Islamic World?
If Israel and oil control is not the real basis for the continuing USS Liberty cover up..what is? -jd
Finally, the last word on the horrors of the Israeli attack on the Liberty, and the cruel indifference of LBJ to its fate, has to be left to one of the injured survivors of that terror-filled day, Lt. George Golden, the Liberty’s chief engineer. He told author Hounam, (at p. 240-41), in a recent interview, “We were the guinea pigs to get shot up, to make it look like the Egypt was doing this so the U.S. could step in…to give our country an excuse to get in there to help Israel…” When asked how he felt when he was told all of this about being damned guinea pigs, Golden responded, “I thought I was going to cry because I couldn’t believe something like that would happen. I didn’t think our government was that way…”
These arguments were assembled by an experienced lawyer. Remember, these are not official American arguments, but a good portion of the arguments directly support the official American position.
The United States stopped inquiring into the attack in July 1967. In the last 38 years, additional evidence has been developed, witnesses have spoken up, and documents have been declassified. These arguments attempt to bring all of this evidence together. Compare these with the Israeli arguments (actually, we do that for you too). Which hold water, and which sink into a pool of lies?
“In another bizarre case, U.S.S. Liberty survivor Phil Tourney was recently accosted in Southern California by a foreigner who eventually identified himself as an Israeli government representative. Tourney was taunted, and the Israeli threatened both him and journalist Mark Glenn, who has been reporting on the Liberty story. Tourney was approached in a hotel lounge, and it is not completely clear how the Israeli was able to identify him. But he knew exactly who Tourney was, as the official referred to the Liberty, saying that the people who had been killed on board had gotten what they deserved. There were a number of witnesses to the incident, including Tourney’s wife. The threat has been reported to the FBI, which is investigating, but Tourney and Glenn believe that the incident is not being taken seriously by the bureau.”
PHILIP GIRALDI: Israeli Mossad Spying in America
23 Aug. 2010
Israeli intelligence steps up its activity in the U.S. — and gets away with it.
We have spies among us!
Israeli government claims that it does not spy on the United States are intended for the media and popular consumption. The reality is that Israel’s intelligence agencies target the United States intensively, particularly in pursuit of military and dual-use civilian technology. Among nations considered to be friendly to Washington, Israel leads all others in its active espionage directed against American companies and the Defense Department. It also dominates two commercial sectors that enable it to extend its reach inside America’s domestic infrastructure: airline and telecommunications security. Israel is believed to have the ability to monitor nearly all phone records originating in the United States, while numerous Israeli air-travel security companies are known to act as the local Mossad stations.
As tensions with Iran increase, sources in the counterintelligence community report that Israeli agents have become more aggressive in targeting Muslims living in the United States as well as in operating against critics. There have been a number of cases reported to the FBI about Mossad officers who have approached leaders in Arab-American communities and have falsely represented themselves as “U.S. intelligence.” Because few Muslims would assist an Israeli, this is done to increase the likelihood that the target will cooperate. It’s referred to as a “false flag” operation.
Mossad officers sought to recruit Arab-Americans as sources willing to inform on their associates and neighbors. The approaches, which took place in New York and New Jersey, were reportedly handled clumsily, making the targets of the operation suspicious. These Arab-Americans turned down the requests for cooperation, and some of the contacts were eventually reported to the FBI, which has determined that at least two of the Mossad officers are, ironically, Israeli Arabs operating out of Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York under cover as consular assistants.
In another bizarre case, U.S.S. Liberty survivor Phil Tourney was recently accosted in Southern California by a foreigner who eventually identified himself as an Israeli government representative. Tourney was taunted, and the Israeli threatened both him and journalist Mark Glenn, who has been reporting on the Liberty story. Tourney was approached in a hotel lounge, and it is not completely clear how the Israeli was able to identify him. But he knew exactly who Tourney was, as the official referred to the Liberty, saying that the people who had been killed on board had gotten what they deserved. There were a number of witnesses to the incident, including Tourney’s wife. The threat has been reported to the FBI, which is investigating, but Tourney and Glenn believe that the incident is not being taken seriously by the bureau.
FBI sources indicate that the increase in Mossad activity is a major problem, particularly when Israelis are posing as U.S. government officials, but they also note that there is little they can do to stop it as the Justice Department refuses to initiate any punitive action or prosecutions of the Mossad officers who have been identified as involved in the illegal activity.
In another ongoing Israeli spy case, Stewart Nozette appears to be headed towards eventual freedom as his case drags on through the District of Columbia courts. Nozette, an aerospace scientist with a top secret clearance and access to highly sensitive information, offered to sell classified material to a man he believed to be a Mossad officer, but who instead turned out to be with the FBI. Nozette has been in jail since October, but he has now been granted an additional 90-day delay so his lawyers can review the documents in the government’s case, many of which are classified. If Nozette demands that sensitive information be used in his defense, his case will likely follow the pattern set in the nine-times-postponed trial of AIPAC spies Steve Rosen and, who were ultimately acquitted in April 2009 when prosecutors determined that they could not make their case without doing significant damage to national security. A month after Rosen and Weissman were freed, Ben-Ami Kadish, who admitted to providing defense secrets to Israel while working as an engineer at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, walked out of a Manhattan court after paying a fine. He did no jail time and continues to receive his substantial Defense Department pension.
The mainstream media reported the Rosen and Weissman trial intermittently, but there was virtually no coverage of Ben-Ami Kadish, and there has been even less of Nozette. Compare that with the recent reporting on the Russian spies who, by all accounts, did almost nothing and never obtained any classified information. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that spying for Israel is consequence free.
Philip Giraldi, a former CIA Officer, is the Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest. His “Deep Background” column appears every month exclusively in The American Conservative.
Jay Cristol’s whole career and central thesis in all is writings has been the central LIE of numerous US investigations of the USS Liberty (The number has varied over the years , need for obfuscation, hype.) It is the bedrock of his lies. For the record. There has never been a single US government investigation of the USS Liberty attack except the political ridiculously short 8 day Naval Court of Inquiry. It still is cited by apologists as part of the cover up since this liar came on the scene as a Israel First pitch man for perpetuating the cover up. Here’s another response to Cristol. -jd
James Gotcher replies to Jay Cristol
Naval Institute Proceedings
August 2005
Liberty Victims Did Not Die in Vain
James R. Gotcher — The letter by A. Jay Cristol is an attempt to perpetuate discredited myths. Captain Cristol objects to Mr. Wells’s characterization of former Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s position and suggests that Secretary Rusk in fact held contrary views. In his formal diplomatic note to the Israeli government (6/10/67), Secretary Rusk characterized the attack as follows:
“In these circumstances, the later military attack by Israeli aircraft on the USS Liberty is quite literally incomprehensible. As a minimum, the attack must be condemned as an act of military recklessness reflecting wanton disregard for human life. The subsequent attack by Israeli motor torpedo boats, substantially after the vessel was or should have been identified by Israeli military forces, manifests the same reckless disregard for human life.”
Cristol’s suggestion that Secretary Rusk held different views is belied by Secretary Rusk’s own words not long before his death:
“But I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn’t believe them then, and I don’t believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous.” — Rusks memoirs: As I Saw It, p.388.
Similarly, Captain Cristol suggests that the Central Intelligence Agency concluded that the attack was a mistake. Commenting on the final CIA report that followed the interim report quoted by Captain Cristol, former director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms wrote in his memoir, A Look Over My Shoulder:
“I had no role in the board of inquiry that followed, or the board’s finding that there could be no doubt that the Israelis knew exactly what they were doing in attacking the Liberty. I have yet to understand why it was felt necessary to attack this ship or who ordered the attack.”
Finally, Captain Cristol suggests that readers visit his web site for further information. On that website, he alleges: “After ten official US investigations (including five congressional investigations), there was never any evidence that the attack was made with knowledge that the target was a U.S. warship.”
A fraud, a 'Israel First' American and USS Liberty apologist and liar.
“Top Gun” Ahron Jay Cristol gets his hat handed to him. -jd
“Liberty” Smearing Backfires:
by William Hughes
Pro-Israeli Cristol Overreaches – When Ahron Jay Cristol, a self-described “amateur historian,” showed up at the National Security Agency’s (NSA) National Cryptologic Museum at Fort George C. Meade, MD., on Jan. 14, 2004, there was something almost sacrilegious about his presence there.
He was there to peddle his pro-Zionist Israel book, “The Liberty Incident.” It is a clever, but seriously flawed, apologia, that attempts to mask the wrongdoing associated with Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty, an NSA-fitted spy vessel, on June 8, 1967. That attack killed 34 brave Americans and wounded 172 others. His book also smears those demanding justice in the Liberty matter as “conspiracy theorists.”
Who is Cristol? Now, in his 70s, he has worked mostly as a bankruptcy judge, a federal sinecure that doesn’t need congressional approval. He has a non-combat background in the U.S. Navy.
Two days before his appearance, Cristol was on a State Dept. panel, in DC, pontificating about the 1967 “Six-Day War” and the fate of the Liberty. When survivors of the Liberty, during the Q&A period, began to speak out about the “Whitewash,” one Marc Susser, a State Dept. honcho, ordered them silenced.
Ahron Jay Cristol: Who does he really serve?
Cristol’s insufferable mantra: “The Israelis’ attack on the Liberty was an accident,” was repeated by him ad nauseam at the book signing. However, the overwhelming credible evidence shows that the Israeli attack was intentional (James M. Ennes, Jr.’s “Assault on the Liberty”), and that an insidious cover-up of that fact has continued down to the present day (James Bamford’s “Body of Secrets”). Recently, two individuals from the U.S. intelligence community have come forward to verify that they had viewed intercepted real-time transcripts, on June 8, 1967, between Israeli jet pilots and their ground controllers, in which the Israelis clearly acknowledged that they knew that they were attacking, and worse still, trying to sink, “the American ship” (http://www.ussliberty.org/smoking.htm).
NSA’s Cryptologic Museum was built in 1993. It houses code-breaking, and related artifacts, from our country’s past. It also displays, the actual 5’ by 8’ American flag the Liberty was flying, when it was deliberately assaulted by unmarked Israeli jet planes and torpedo boats for over one hour and 15 minutes. NSA, a/k/a, “The Puzzle Palace,” is located about 15 miles directly north of Washington, DC. Cristol confessed that it was his “first visit to the museum,” which despite the small audience for his talk, brought a large police presence, both uniformed NSA and plain clothes men.
Also, at the book signing, Cristol made a big deal about the transcripts of NSA-released communications of June 8, 1967, between Israeli helicopter pilots. At best, these transcripts mimic an improvised vaudeville skit of the Marx Brothers and prove absolutely nothing, since the helicopter pilots arrived AFTER the attack. These particular pilots weren’t part of the original assault force. Therefore, their communications are immaterial, self-serving and lack probative value. They would be barred as evidence at any official judicial proceeding worthy of its name. When I confronted him with the above argument, Cristol gave a long winded non-answer that wandered all over the ball park and back again.
The prime suspect, within Tel Aviv’s warmongering cabal, for ordering the attack on the Liberty was General Moshe Dayan, (now deceased), then Israel’s Defense Minister. To start the 1967 “Six-Day War,” Dayan commanded pre-emptive military strikes on Egypt and Syria and directed the illegal confiscation of 750,000 acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza. Could one draw a line from this unjust conflict, initiated by the Israelis, to the fireballs that engulfed the WTC on 9/11?
At the signing, I asked Cristol, if Dayan had ordered the attack on the Liberty, and if he didn’t, then who did? He answered, “General Dayan didn’t make that decision. It was made at a tactical level.”
In his book, Cristol claimed that Dayan was out having lunch out in the countryside, around the time the attack occurred. He even offered a photo of the luncheon to support his dubious argument. What irrelevant hogwash! Let’s reduce Cristol’s alibi for Dayan to its absurd basics. After WWII, Japan’s War Minister, Hideki Tojo, was brought before the International Military Tribunal. He had ordered the sneak attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. The idea that Tojo’s defense counsel could have acquitted him by offering a photo that showed him lunching on sushi at the precise time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor is preposterous. Tojo was hanged as a war criminal on Dec. 23, 1948.
A. Jay Cristol: Who does he really serve?
The haughty Cristol persisted with his bogus argument, at the signing, that there has been “seven investigations” that have exonerated Israel. (In his book, he claimed thirteen! Go figure.) He even claimed that the House Appropriation Committee has a “classified report” on the Liberty “locked up in its safe.” However, Terrance O’Keefe’s excellent investigatory article in the “WRMEA,” (12/03), directly contradicted Cristol’s unsupported opinion and labeled it, “pure fantasy.” O’Keefe underscored how Cristol had also alleged that five of 13 supposed investigations had been conducted by the Congress. In fact, the Congressional Research Service, according to O’Keefe, revealed that “Congress has never investigated the attack.”
It has even pictures!
When I queried Cristol whether it was a war crime or not, under any circumstances, for the Israelis to have machine-gunned the Liberty’s life rafts, he replied, “It’s one of the myths that has grown up,” about the Liberty. He said that story “isn’t accurate.”
Mark Kram, a Liberty survivor, revealed that the Liberty was under constant surveillance and that the Israeli planes were, at times, so close to the ship that he could see the “pilot in the cockpit.” Cristol responded, as if on cue, by saying “Mistakes were made by the Israelis, terrible blunders,” and that there were “a series of blunders.” He said one of the “major blunders” was how the Liberty marker was “taken off” the board, at Naval Intelligence, at Haifa. “It was a terrible mistake,” Cristol said, as the Liberty survivors, and their supporters, in the audience shook their heads in total disbelief.
Thankfully, Cristol’s book is having the opposite effect from the one its author intended. Instead of laying the Liberty controversy to rest, it has revived it from the ashes of lies, half-truths and deceptions, where it has been buried for nearly forty years (See, the compelling “Declaration of Ward Boston, Jr.,” Capt. JAGC, USN, Ret. at: http://www.ussliberty.org/). Check the Internet out and you will see that the question of what really happened to the Liberty has become an issue for a new generation of justice seekers.
At the end of the day, it will be the overreaching Cristol who will get the credit for giving others a golden opportunity to prove that the Israelis DID deliberately attack the Liberty. When that happens, our national honor will demand that the parties responsible for the war crimes committed on June 8, 1967, be brought to the bar of American justice. I leave the last word on all of the above to the immortal British bard, William Shakespeare. In the “Rape of Lucrece,” he wrote:
“Time’s glory is to calm contending kings,
To unmask falsehood and bring truth to light,
To stamp the seal of time in aged things,
To wake the morn and sentinel the night,
To wrong the wronger till he render right.”
William Hughes is the author of “Andrew Jackson vs. New World Order” (Authors Choice Press) and “Baltimore Iconoclast” (Writer’s Showcase), which are availabel online. He can be reached at liamhughes@mindspring.com.
Parts from an old review of A. Jay Cristol’s “Liberty Incident” –The Official ‘approved’ USS Liberty Apologist Manual
ATTACK ON THE LIBERTY: TRAGIC ERROR OR PREMEDITATED ASSAULT?
Review by Amb. (ret.) William N. Dale
A fraud, a 'Israel First' American and USS Liberty apologist and liar.
“Cristol’s conclusions have been subject to much criticism. First of all, his observation that there were thirteen investigations of the incident appears to have been an exaggeration. The U. S. Navy court seems to have done as thorough a job as possible considering the time restraints it encountered in its investigation. Incredibly, it did not even query any Israeli. Many of the later inquiries based their opinions on the naval court’s conclusion that there was no evidence the attack was premeditated. The Congressional investigations cited by the author were actually hearings on other subjects in which the Liberty incident was only briefly mentioned. The Israeli investigations also reached the conclusion that the attack was accidental. The U. S. government has yet to conduct a thorough and official investigation.
One of the claims examined by Captain Cristol is that of Ambassador Dwight Porter who was in charge of the Beirut embassy at the time of the attack. The ambassador claimed that he had seen an intercept of a conversation in which an Israeli pilot who had reported that the Liberty was an American ship was ordered by Israeli Air Force headquarters to proceed with the assault. Cristol maintains that the Beirut embassy was too far away from the scene of the attack to have been able to intercept such messages and that Porter’s story had varied over the years. The author’s doubts, notwithstanding, if Ambassador Porter–a highly experienced Foreign Service Officer–maintains that he saw these intercepts, then the chances are very great that he did so.
In Cristol’s account that an Israeli plane had observed and reported the presence of the Liberty early in the morning of September 8, he noted that the naval authorities had placed a wedge on their plotting board representing it. An Israeli naval officer later removed it so that headquarters would have no record of it when it was rediscovered, its identity questioned, and the ship attacked. If there was any possibility that an American ship was in the area, it seems improbable that any naval officer would have removed the wedge representing it from the plotting board without mentioning to his colleagues that it was a U. S. ship. If the Israelis knew from morning on that the ship was American and for one or more reasons decided to destroy its ability to monitor Israeli military movements, this would have been a point at which a tragic accident story could emerge.”
I guess the efforts of the Israel Lobby’s public relations payments on the deliberate USS Liberty attack are still ‘classified’ and ‘secret’ as are the NSA recordings DURING THE ATTACK of the “accident of mistaken identity”. Why else would an “accident” still be classified?. -jd
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Declassified files from a Senate investigation into Israeli-funded covert public relations and lobbying activity in the United States were released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on July 23rd, 2010. The subpoenaed documents reveal Israel’s clandestine programs for “cultivation of editors,” the “stimulation and placement of suitable articles in the major consumer magazines” as well as U.S. reporting about sensitive subjects such as the Dimona nuclear weapons facility.
Dimona (excerpt): “The nuclear reactor story inspired comment from many sources; editorial writers, columnists, science writers and cartoonists. Most of the press seemed finally to accept the thesis that the reactor was being built for peaceful purposes and not for bombs.” http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
Content placement and promotion (excerpt): “The Atlantic Monthly in its October issue carried the outstanding Martha Gellhorn piece on the Arab refugees, which made quite an impact around the country. We arranged for the distribution of 10,000 reprints to public opinion molders in all categories… Interested friends are making arrangements with the Atlantic for another reprint of the Gellhorn article to be sent to all 53,000 persons whose names appear in Who’s Who in America…Our Committee is now planning articles for the women’s magazines for the trade and business publications.” http://www.irmep.org/09101961AZC.pdf
Pressure campaigns (excerpt): “It can be said that the press of the nation…has by and large shown sympathy and understanding of Israel’s position. There are, of course, exceptions, notably the Scripps-Howard chain where we still need to achieve a ‘break-through,’ the Pulliam chain (where some progress has been made) and some locally-owned papers.” http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
Magazine Committee achievements (excerpt): “We cannot pinpoint all that has already been accomplished by this Committee except to say that it has been responsible for the writing and placement of articles on Israel in some of America’s leading magazines….” http://www.IRmep.org/10301962_AZC.pdf
According to Grant F. Smith, director of IRmep, “It is frightening how easily some in the American news media surrendered to a foreign public relations campaign that spent the 2010 equivalent of $36 million over two years. Time has proven most of the planted content to be misleading, if not dangerous. These historical documents hold many important lessons for Americans who have long needed—but rarely received—straight reporting on key Middle East issues.”
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation’s record keeper. It retains 1%-3% of the most important documents of business conducted by the United States Federal government. The Israel Lobby Archive, http://IRmep.org/ila is a unit of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington.
SOURCE Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy
Oldie but goodie. “Justice for all” my ass, never for the USS Liberty because Israel says so.
Twenty years after the attack, a letter asks and describes the same thing as letters 43 years after the attack do and the US government will tell you that they do not pander or subvert themselves to Israel. Our government can’t bend over far and fast enough for Israel. We are a AIPAC “Israel First’ controlled government and don’t kid yourself otherwise. It all started June 8th, 1967. These are the “dangers of foreign alliances” George Washington warned in his Farewell Address about and we ignored.-jd
August 11, 1988 Op-Ed Letter
After 20 Years, Justice Still Awaits Survivors of the U.S.S. Liberty
To the Editor:
Blood stains from the attack and a continuing cover up
In ”The Roots and Rudiments of Compensation to Foreigners,” a background story on payment to the families of those who died on Iran Air Flight 655 (Washington Talk page, July 13), you mistakenly say 34 seamen were killed and 75 others were injured in the air and sea attack by Israel on the intelligence ship Liberty in the 1967 Middle East war. The 34 killed consisted of 3 officers, 2 chief petty officers, 18 petty officers, 8 seamen, 2 marines and 1 civilian; 171 others were wounded in the prolonged attack.
Your assertion that ”Israel met the full United States demand” for compensation conveys the impression of a sincere willingness on the part of Israel to make amends for the carnage and destruction. Actually, the payments for death and injury came only after haggling and claims that the United States was at fault; the payment for material damage to the ship itself (it was totaled) finally came in 1980, 13 years after the attack, when the appearance of ”Assault on the Liberty,” a book written by one of the Liberty’s officers, James M. Ennes, cast substantial doubt on Israel’s claim of mistaken identity as a cause of the attack.
It is necessary, too, to point out that the United States demand went beyond the issue of compensation; Dean Rusk, then Secretary of State, insisted that Israel take disciplinary measures that international law requires in the event of wrongful conduct by the military personnel of a state during the course of a war. This remains to be done.
The motive for attacking the Liberty still has not been properly addressed because the facts have never been officially acknowledged. An honest analysis must consider the following: The Israel Defense Forces took the virtually impregnable Golan Heights in less than 24 hours, even though its ranks were already thinned over the newly conquered West Bank, Gaza and the Sinai Desert all the way to the Suez Canal. It appears that this troop movement up the Golan was postponed by one day, June 8, 1967, when the Liberty’s electronic surveillance capability was neutralized by Israeli jet fighters swooping down at close range.
The strategic implications of the attack include Israel’s continuing effort to isolate Syria from negotiations and Israel’s willful flouting of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which demands that the Golan Heights be returned to Syria.
Also at stake is a treasured chapter from Israeli folklore, for the only miracle that occurred during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war was the Liberty’s staying afloat. Her survivors deserve a fair hearing in their quest for justice.
STEPHEN M. ST. JOHN New York, July 20, 1988 The writer is an associate member, U.S.S. Liberty Veterans Association.
This forum is public and its discourse is open and uncensored nor does it not have the approval or sanction of the USS Liberty Veterans Association in any way.
‘Son, I spent 2 years as a special agent in the FBI and over 30 yrs in the military, and if it is one thing I learned through all of this, it’s that when you get an order, you say ‘yes sir’ and carry it out with no questions asked’.
“13. I AM OUTRAGED AT THE EFFORTS OF THE APOLOGISTS FOR ISRAEL IN THIS COUNTRY TO CLAIM THAT THE ATTACK WAS A CASE OF “MISTAKEN IDENTITY.”
The USS Liberty Memorial Website