[lit-ideas] Re: Vanunu's Secret
- From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 23:35:45 -0700
Israeli Attack on U.S. Navy Ship Led to Cover-Up
By Admiral Thomas Moorer. Admiral Thomas Moorer, now retired, 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. This article is reprinted with permission from the
Jan. 11 Houston Chronicle.
After State Department officials and historians assembled in Washington, DC,
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 [see box
on following page]. 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 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.
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