[R-G] 'The USS Liberty': America's Most Shameful Secret by Eric Margolis

Tue Jun 9 02:08:23 MDT 2009

Good Luck!  May hyperbole do its hoped for work, except the phrase "Most
Shameful" is so overused as to without meaning.  And, a secret no longer a
secret, is one no longer.  Misuse of wrds leads to misuse of meaning leading
to lackluster writing, sir.  respectfuly,
Suzanne

On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 12:36 AM, Sid Shniad <shniad at sfu.ca> wrote:

>
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> http://lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis12.2.html
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> ‘The USS Liberty’: America 's Most Shameful Secret
>
>
>
> " Liberty 's" intercepts may have shown that Israel seized upon sharply
> 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.
>
>
>
> by Eric Margolis
>
>
>
> This article was written in 2001.
>
>
>
> NEW YORK – 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 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 US National Security Agency, and
> packed with the latest signals and electronic interception equipment. The
> ship bristled with antennas and electronic "ears" including TRSSCOMM, a
> system that delivered real-time intercepts to Washington by bouncing a
> stream of microwaves off the moon.
>
>
>
> " Liberty " had been rushed to Sinai to monitor communications of the
> belligerents in the Third Arab Israeli War: Israel and her foes, Egypt ,
> Syria , and Jordan .
>
>
>
> At 0800 hrs, 8 June, 1967, eight Israeli recon flights flew over " Liberty
> ," which was flying a large American flag. At 1400 hrs, waves of low-flying
> Israeli Mystere and Mirage-III fighter-bombers repeatedly attacked the
> American vessel with rockets, napalm, and cannon. The air attacks lasted 20
> minutes, concentrating on the ship's electronic antennas and dishes. The "
> Liberty " was left afire, listing sharply. Eight of her crew lay dead, a
> hundred seriously wounded, including the captain, Commander William
> McGonagle.
>
>
>
> At 1424 hrs, three Israeli torpedo boats attacked, raking the burning "
> Liberty " with 20mm and 40mm shells. At 1431hrs an Israeli torpedo hit the "
> Liberty " midship, precisely where the signals intelligence systems were
> located. Twenty-five more Americans died.
>
>
>
> Israeli gunboats circled the wounded " Liberty ," firing at crewmen trying
> to fight the fires. At 1515, the crew were ordered to abandon ship. The
> Israeli warships closed and poured machine gun fire into the crowded life
> rafts, sinking two. As American sailors were being massacred in cold blood,
> a rescue mission by US Sixth Fleet carrier aircraft was mysteriously aborted
> on orders from the White House.
>
>
>
> An hour after the attack, Israeli warships and planes returned. Commander
> McGonagle gave the order: "prepare to repel borders." But the Israelis,
> probably fearful of intervention by the US Sixth Fleet, departed. " Liberty
> " was left shattered but still defiant, her flag flying.
>
>
>
> The Israeli attacks killed 34 US seamen and wounded 171 out of a crew of
> 297, the worst loss of American 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 claimed it had mistaken " Liberty
> " for an ancient Egyptian horse transport. US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk,
> and Joint Chiefs of Staff head, Admiral Thomas Moorer, insisted the Israeli
> attack was deliberate and designed to sink " Liberty ." So did three CIA
> reports; one asserted Israel 's Defense Minister, Gen. Moshe Dayan, had
> personally ordered the attack.
>
>
>
> In contrast to American outrage over North Korea's assault on the
> intelligence ship "Pueblo," Iraq's mistaken missile strike on the USS
> "Stark," last fall's bombing of the USS "Cole" in Aden, and the recent
> US-China air incident, the savaging of "Liberty" was quickly hushed up by
> President Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara.
>
>
>
> The White House and Congress immediately accepted Israel 's explanation and
> let the matter drop. Israel later paid a token reparation of US $6 million.
> There were reports two Israeli pilots who had refused to attack " Liberty "
> were jailed for 18 years.
>
>
>
> Surviving " Liberty " crew members would not be silenced. They kept
> demanding an open inquiry and tried to tell their story of deliberate attack
> to the media. Israel 's government worked behind the scenes to thwart these
> efforts, going so far as having American pro-Israel groups accuse " Liberty
> 's" survivors of being "anti-Semites" and "Israel-haters." Major TV networks
> cancelled interviews with the crew. A book about the " Liberty " by crewman
> James Ennes' was dropped from distribution. The Israel lobby branded him "an
> Arab propagandist."
>
>
>
> The attack on "Liberty" was fading 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 US Navy EC-121 intelligence aircraft was
> flying high overhead the "Liberty," electronically recorded the attack. The
> US aircraft crew provides evidence that the Israeli pilots knew full well
> that they were attacking a US Navy ship flying the American flag.
>
>
>
> Why did Israel try to sink a naval vessel of its benefactor and ally? Most
> likely because " Liberty 's" intercepts flatly contradicted Israel 's claim,
> made at the war's beginning on 5 June, that Egypt had attacked Israel , and
> that Israel 's massive air assault on three Arab nations was in retaliation.
> In fact, Israel began the war by a devastating, Pearl-Harbor style surprise
> attack that caught the Arabs in bed and destroyed their entire air forces.
>
>
>
> Israel was also preparing to attack Syria to seize its strategic Golan
> Heights . Washington warned Israel not to invade Syria , which had remained
> inactive while Israel fought Egypt . Bamford says Israel 's offensive
> against Syria was abruptly postponed when " Liberty " appeared off Sinai,
> then launched once it was knocked out of action. Israel 's claim that Syria
> had attacked it could have been disproved by " Liberty ."
>
>
>
> Most significant, " Liberty 's" intercepts may have shown that Israel
> seized upon sharply 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, a man never noted for high moral values,
> preferred to cover up the attack rather than anger a key constituency and
> major financial backer of the Democratic Party. 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, as is usual, but in an obscure
> ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard. Crew member's graves were inscribed,
> "died in the Eastern Mediterranean. " as if they had be killed by disease,
> rather than hostile action.
>
>
>
> A member of President Johnson's staff believed there was a more complex
> reason for the cover-up: Johnson offered Jewish liberals unconditional
> backing of Israel , and a cover-up of the " Liberty " attack, in exchange
> for the liberal toning down their strident criticism of his policies in the
> then raging Vietnam War.
>
>
>
> Israel , which claims it fought a war of self defense in 1967 and had no
> prior territorial ambitions, will be much displeased by Bamford's
> revelations. Those who believe Israel illegally occupies the West Bank and
> Golan will be emboldened.
>
>
>
> Much more important, the US government's long, disgraceful cover-up of the
> premeditated attack on " Liberty " has now burst into the open and demands
> full-scale investigation. After 34 years, the voices of " Liberty 's" dead
> and wounded seamen must finally be heard.
>
>
>
> May 2, 2001
>
>
>
> Eric Margolis, contributing foreign editor for Sun National Media Canada.
> He is the author of War at the Top of the World and the new book, American
> Raj: Liberation or Domination?: Resolving the Conflict Between the West and
> the Muslim World . See his website.
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