Memorial Day: Remembering The USS Liberty Attack
by NowPublic Staff | May 31, 2010
USS Liberty Conspiracy: The Truth Behind The Attack By Israel Defense Forces in 1967: 34 Soldiers Killed
Two recent events demand that we recall that awful day in 1967 when the U.S.S. Liberty, a Navy intelligence ship, was attacked by the Israel Defense Force killing 34 American soldiers and injuring 171 during the Arab-Israel 7 Day War.
The first incident of course is Memorial Day. The soldiers who died aboard the ship deserve to be remembered and their story needs to be told.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZSzdQuOqM&feature=player_embedded
The second incident is the Israel Defense Forces storming the Gaza and killing more than 10 people. The Gaza Flotilla was reportedly attempting to deliver aid to the blockaded Gaza strip – though Israel charges the aid group behind the Flotilla has terrorist connections.
Nonetheless, the attack on the aid ship illustrates how Israel responds when questionable actions involving its military occur – which takes us back to 1967 and the sinking of the USS Liberty.
USS Liberty Attack Background
The USS Liberty was an intelligence Navy ship which reportedly intercepted electronic communication, perhaps including that of Israel’s.
Israel claims that that USS Liberty attack was accidental, that the military though it was an Egyptian ship – The U.S. military and the government at the time accepted Israel’s explanation and quietly muzzled the story. But accounts by surviving veterans aboard the USS Liberty flatly contradict the official version of events.
At 1400 hours, while approximately about 17 nautical miles off the northern Sinai coast and about 25 nautical miles northwest of El Arish, USS Liberty’s crew observed three surface radar contacts closing with their position at high speed. A few moments later, the bridge radar crew observed high speed aircraft passing over the surface returns on the same heading. Within a few short moments, and without any warning, Israeli fighter aircraft launched a rocket attack on USS Liberty. The aircraft made repeated firing passes, attacking USS Liberty with rockets and their internal cannons. After the first flight of fighter aircraft had exhausted their ordnance, subsequent flights of Israeli fighter aircraft continued to prosecute the attack with rockets, cannon fire, and napalm.
Source: usslibertyveterans.org
Simply put, the veterans say it would be impossible for Israel NOT to know they were attacking an American military ship. The Navy conducted a superficial investigation into the death of 34 of their own. Congress decided it would be best not investigate the USS Liberty attack, the military and the government have consistently stonewalled any efforts to investigate what happened.
The USS Liberty Veterans and some journalists were persistent in their charges however.
Recently documents regarding the USS Liberty Attack have been declassified but they have been heavily redacted.
Israel says that it was a mistake, and the persistent questioning of its motives are anti-semitic. The veterans say they know anti-semitic forces have latched onto the story and they condemn those forces.
“Americans who volunteer for military service effectively write a blank check, payable to the United States of America for an amount “up to and including my life.” The United States, in turn, promises to spend these checks responsibly. That bargain implicitly includes a promise by the United States to protect them and to seek retribution against anyone who harms them. In the case of USS Liberty, the United States has failed to keep its end of the bargain.”
Source: gtr5.com
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Memorial Day: Remembering The USS Liberty Attack | NowPublic News Coverage http://www.nowpublic.com/world/memorial-day-remembering-uss-liberty-attack-2623268.html#ixzz1pfepWa68
The USS Liberty Memorial Website
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