Posted on 01/13/2004 10:40:22 PM PST by churchillbuff
After State Department officials and historians assembled in Washington, D.C., last week to discuss the 1967 war in the Middle East, I am compelled to speak out about one of U.S. history's most shocking cover-ups.
On June 8, 1967, Israel attacked our proud naval ship -- the USS Liberty -- killing 34 American servicemen and wounding 172. Those men were then betrayed and left to die by our own government.
U.S. military rescue aircraft were recalled, not once, but twice, through direct intervention by the Johnson administration. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's cancellation of the Navy's attempt to rescue the Liberty, which I personally confirmed from the commanders of the aircraft carriers America and Saratoga, was the most disgraceful act I witnessed in my entire military career.
To add insult to injury, Congress, to this day, has failed to hold formal hearings on Israel's attack on this American ship. No official investigation of Israel's attack has ever permitted the testimony of the surviving crew members.
A 1967 investigation by the Navy, upon which all other reports are based, has now been fully discredited as a cover-up by its senior attorney. Capt. Ward Boston, in a sworn affidavit, recently revealed that the court was ordered by the White House to cover up the incident and find that Israel's attack was "a case of mistaken identity."
Some distinguished colleagues and I formed an independent commission to investigate the attack on the USS Liberty. After an exhaustive review of previous reports, naval and other military records, including eyewitness testimony from survivors, we recently presented our findings on Capitol Hill. They include:
· Israeli reconnaissance aircraft closely studied the Liberty during an eight-hour period prior to the attack, one flying within 200 feet of the ship. Weather reports confirm the day was clear with unlimited visibility. The Liberty was a clearly marked American ship in international waters, flying an American flag and carrying large U.S. Navy hull letters and numbers on its bow.
Despite claims by Israeli intelligence that they confused the Liberty with a small Egyptian transport, the Liberty was conspicuously different from any vessel in the Egyptian navy. It was the most sophisticated intelligence ship in the world in 1967. With its massive radio antennae, including a large satellite dish, it looked like a large lobster and was one of the most easily identifiable ships afloat.
· Israel attempted to prevent the Liberty's radio operators from sending a call for help by jamming American emergency radio channels.
· Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned lifeboats at close range that had been lowered to rescue the most seriously wounded.
As a result, our commission concluded that:
· There is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire crew.
· In attacking the USS Liberty, Israel committed acts of murder against U.S. servicemen and an act of war against the United States
· The White House knowingly covered up the facts of this attack from the American people.
· The truth continues to be concealed to the present day in what can only be termed a national disgrace.
What was Israel's motive in launching this attack? Congress must address this question with full cooperation from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the military intelligence services.
The men of the USS Liberty represented the United States. They were attacked for two hours, causing 70 percent of American casualties, and the eventual loss of our best intelligence ship.
These sailors and Marines were entitled to our best defense. We gave them no defense.
Did our government put Israel's interests ahead of our own? If so, why? Does our government continue to subordinate American interests to Israeli interests? These are important questions that should be investigated by an independent, fully empowered commission of the American government.
The American people deserve to know the truth about this attack. We must finally shed some light on one of the blackest pages in American naval history. It is a duty we owe not only to the brave men of the USS Liberty, but to every man and woman who is asked to wear the uniform of the United States.
Moorer was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff from 1970 to 1974. He is joined in the independent commission of inquiry by Gen. Ray Davis (recently deceased); Rear Adm. Merlin Staring; former Judge Advocate General of the Navy and Ambassador James Akins.
"A CIA memo of June 13 reported they had no intercepts from the attacking planes and torpedo boats, but that the helicopter pilots' communication left little doubt that the Israelis had failed to identify the Liberty as a US ship," said Harriet Schwar, editor of the newly released volume.
"A follow-up CIA memo on June 21st noted that the Liberty had been identified prior to the attacks but concluded that the Israelis were not aware at the time of the attack that they were attacking a US ship. It concluded that the attack was not made in malice, but was by mistake, representing gross negligence. The Defense Intelligence Agency reached a similar conclusion," Schwar added
If I had my way he would be hung by the neck in Lafayette Square Park across the street from the White house and left to rot as a warning to all self appointed "elite" bureaucrats.
Regards,.
Evidence?
LOL!! You only want one conclusion and you won't stop until you hear it!! You're so full of crap it's beyond words.
Have fun shooting your cap gun on the Grassy Knoll.
You consider Admirar Moorer and other top military leaders who had responsibility over the men of the Liberty to be "antiamerican"? It think that's a slur against American patriots who merely want an accounting - a public investigation - of what happened, and why the Johnson administration may have actively prevented the rescue of American sailors. From your indifference to this issue, I have to assume 1) you had no relatives aboard the Liberty; and 2) you may be one of those peacnicks who doesn't support American troops.
You slander Admiral Moorer and other American leaders who wear our uniform when you suggest that they're "Conspiracy theorists" merely because they want an investigation of why the Liberty was shot at over a period of some time, and why the Johnson administration may have actively prevented the rescue of the men of the Liberty. These were American soldiers and sailors. You don't care about what happened to them and why?
I consider your statement a vicious slander of Admiral Moorer, who is a patriot who cares about the men of the Liberty. Why were they shot at, with 32 being killed? Why didn't the Johnson administration, apparently, thwart rescue attempts? There's never been an open and public hearing or investigation by Congress. And when historians get together, as they did recently, to discuss that war, this incident often gets short shrift. Admirar Moorer thinks that's a disservice to the men who were shot and the men who died. It's despicable for you to slander his concerns by slinging a slur at him. Are the survivors of the Liberty - - - American troops all --- who have urged an official investigation all these years, also "antisemites"? If you think that, you have about as much respect for our troops as the peaceniks in the street.
Evidence? You don't have anymore evidence for that explanation than we have for any other explanation - - - yet it's curious, with no evidence one way or the other, you leap to blame America first. You're Like the Leftists: America's wrong and others can do no wrong.
Excuse me? You want this incident to go uninvestigated? That tells me you don't support American troops, and you had no relatives aboard the Liberty. You're one of the blame-American-troops-first bunch. (Whereas others -- or at least those who shot the Liberty, and, it seems, Lyndon Johnson, who for some reason didn't rescue the Liberty sailors, can do no wrong in your eyes)
Sounds like you're one of those Leftists who's a hater of the American military. What other conclusion can I draw by your slur on Admiral Moorer and the men of the Liberty?
So, with you sophmoric crayon picture, you want to make the point that Admiral Moorer (and the other retired military leaders, and the survivors of the Liberty) are idiots. That's like Bill Clinton calling Bush a lowlife.
Of course, there has been nothing comparable to the Warren Commission for the Liberty. No official investigation. Shows how little regard our leaders have for our men in uniform. (Some freepers don't support the troops, either - - or at least not the sailors of the Liberty, because they slander people like Admiral Moorer who want an investigation of what happened and why the Johnson administration didn't come to these men's aid)
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