47th Anniversary of Attack on Liberty

[georgephillip]

Those who are old enough to remember June 8, 1967 how would you have responded to the news that Israel deliberately attacked a US naval vessel in international waters during the Six Day War.

To this day, every survivor of that cowardly assault believes it to be deliberate with the intention of sending Liberty to the bottom of the Mediterranean with no survivors and then blame Egypt.

I turned twenty that summer and the plan would have worked like a charm except for Liberty's refusal to die

"On June 8, 1967 while patrolling in international waters[2] in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was savagely attacked without warning or justification by air and naval forces of the state of Israel.[3]

Of a crew of 294 officers and men[4] (including three civilians)[5], the ship suffered thirty four (34) killed in action and one hundred seventy four (174) wounded in action.[6]

"The ship itself, a Forty Million ($40,000,000) Dollar state of the art signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform, was so badly damaged that it never sailed on an operational mission again and was sold in 1970 for $101,666.66 as scrap"

USS Liberty Memorial: Summary of Events

 

[Rocko]

A tragic accident

 

[Indofred]

A tragic accident

It would have been an evil act of war by filthy Muslims .... if the Israelis had got away with it.
Wait until you find out they were very involved in 9/11.

 

[Indofred]

I would like one question answered.

Why do so many Americans chose to believe the Israeli lies over the word of American sailors?

 

[Mr. H.]

Jews get away with the darnedest things.

 

[SteadyMercury]

I'm not so sure a sailor on a ship has the best view on whether they were misidentified.

 

[georgephillip]

A tragic accident

You're half right.

"At approximately 0600 hours (all times local) on the morning of June 8, 1967 an Israeli maritime reconnaissance aircraft observer reported seeing 'a US Navy cargo type ship,' just outside the coverage of the Israeli coastal radar defense net, bearing the hull markings "GTR-5".[11]

"This report, made to Israeli naval HQ, was also forwarded immediately to the Israeli navy intelligence directorate.[12]

"Throughout the remainder of the day prior to the attack, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft regularly flew out to USS Liberty's position and orbited the ship before returning to their bases in Israel.

"A total of no fewer than eight (8) such flights were made."

There was nothing accidental about the attack.

USS Liberty Memorial: Summary of Events

 

[georgephillip]

I would like one question answered.

Why do so many Americans chose to believe the Israeli lies over the word of American sailors?

Here are some thought from Liberty survivors:

"Q:
What motivates the anti-Liberty, pro-Israel partisans?

A:
It is hard to understand what motivates these people. Why did Jonathan Pollard betray the United States? There have always been individuals who feel that they owe a greater allegiance to a foreign state than to the interests of their own country.

"Recently, people like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Ann Coulter, and Alan Dershowitz have attacked USS Liberty survivors and supporters for no reason other than we continue to demand an investigation.


Q:
"But why do they feel that an investigation is such a bad thing?


A:
If the attack was a legitimate mistake, then an honest investigation would reveal that fact.

"The objective, undisputed facts, however, make it pretty clear that the attack could not possibly have been a mistake or accident.

"An honest investigation would reveal that the attack was not a mistake.

"If it was not a mistake or accident, then the American people would demand an accounting from Israel and Israel would have to decide whether to punish those responsible (something they have refused to do for more than 40 years), or not punish them and suffer a loss of support in the United States.

"Israeli supporters know this and attack USS Liberty survivors and supporters in order to prevent this from happening."

Another interesting question is how would the US public have responded to the attack on Liberty if the Internet had been available in 1967? IMHO, much of the disbelief today stems from the secrecy the government imposed 47 years ago.

F.A.Q. Motivation of the anti-Liberty, pro-Israel apologists

 

[georgephillip]

Jews get away with the darnedest things.

Lyndon wasn't Jewish:

"U.S. rescue attempts: At least two rescue attempts were launched from U.S. aircraft carriers nearby but were recalled, according to the Liberty's senior Naval Security Group officer, Lieutenant Commander David Lewis. Lewis made an audio recording and later wrote about a meeting 6th Fleet Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis requested in his cabins: 'He told me that since I was the senior Liberty survivor on board he wanted to tell me in confidence what had actually transpired.

"'He told me that upon receipt of our SOS, aircraft were launched to come to our assistance and then Washington was notified. He said that the Secretary of Defense (Robert McNamara) had ordered that the aircraft be returned to the carrier, which was done.

"'RADM Geis then said that he speculated that Washington may have suspected that the aircraft carried nuclear weapons so he put together another flight of conventional aircraft that had no capability of carrying nuclear weapons.

"'These he launched to assist us and again notified Washington of his actions.

"'Again McNamara ordered the aircraft recalled. He requested confirmation of the order being unable to believe that Washington would let us sink.

"'This time President Johnson ordered the recall with the comment that he did not care if every man drowned and the ship sank, but that he would not embarrass his allies...'"

USS Liberty incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[georgephillip]

I'm not so sure a sailor on a ship has the best view on whether they were misidentified.

During a thirty-five minute surface attack by three Israeli torpedo boats US crew members were easily able to recognize the Star of David flying from their attackers.

Why would you think Jews would have been unable to recognize the US flag?

"After the Israeli fighter aircraft completed their attacks, three Israeli torpedo boats arrived and began a surface attack about 35 minutes after the start of the air attack. The torpedo boats launched a total of five torpedoes, one of which struck the side of USS Liberty, opposite the ship's research spaces. [20]

"Twenty-six Americans in addition to the eight who had been killed in the earlier air attacks, were killed as a result of this explosion.

"Following their torpedo attack, the torpedo boats moved up and down the length of the ship (both the port and starboard sides), continuing their attack, raking the ship with cannon and machine gun fire.[21]

"In Malta, crewmen were later assigned the task of counting all of the holes in the ship that were the size of a man's hand or larger.

"They found a total of 861 such holes, in addition to 'thousands' of .50 caliber machine gun holes.

"Survivors report that the torpedo boat crews swept the decks of USS Liberty with continuous machine gun fire, targeting communications equipment and any crewmembers who ventured above decks.[22]

"Damage control firefighters, who had already risked their lives merely by appearing on deck, had to abandon their efforts because their fire hoses had been shredded by machine gun fire.[23]

"Survivors also report that the torpedo boat crews fired on the inflated life boats launched by the crew after the captain gave the order 'prepare to abandon ship.'[24]

"This order had to be rescinded because the crew was unable to stand on the main deck without being fired upon and the life rafts were destroyed as they were launched.[25]"

USS Liberty Memorial: Summary of Events

 

[georgephillip]

A tragic accident

It would have been an evil act of war by filthy Muslims .... if the Israelis had got away with it.
Wait until you find out they were very involved in 9/11.

Had Liberty gone down with all hands and the Egyptians taken the blame, many Americans who were none too happy to be in Vietnam would have torn Egypt to shreds and many of their grandchildren would be stationed there today.

 

[MikeK]

A tragic accident

Accident?

The Liberty's Captain, his First Officer, and every surviving member of the crew insist that attack was clearly deliberate.

They were there. They experienced it. They know the difference between an accident and a deliberate attack. They have no reason to lie -- and they say it was deliberate.

But you say it was an accident.

Why?


Anyone who wants to know the truth should read, Assault On The Liberty, by Lt. James Ennes, the Liberty's First Officer and survivor of the attack. Read what he has to say, how he knows it could not have been an accident, and how the crew was placed under strict orders to keep their mouths shut about it!

While there have been a number of orchestrated "hearings" by the Navy, there never has been a Congressional investigation of that attack in which the crew members would have an opportunity to testify in open court. There was a Congressional investigation of a President's blowjob but no investigation of something as serious as this!

Why?

 

[strollingbones]

thanks for reminding us ....

 

[Samson]

thanks for reminding us ....

Of what?



I forgot

 

[MikeK]

I'm not so sure a sailor on a ship has the best view on whether they were misidentified.

What experience do you base that opinion on? Are you ex-Navy? Were you ever engaged in the defense of a vessel under close-order attack?

For your information several of the Liberty's sailors say the Israeli torpedo boats came so close they could read the insignia on the Israeli's uniforms.

The pilot of an Israeli reconnaissance fighter jet flew so close to the Liberty an hour before the attack said he saw crew members sunning on the deck who waved at him and he saw the American flag. He identified the ship as American. USS Liberty Conspiracy Theorists, unmasked

 

[georgephillip]

A tragic accident

Accident?

The Liberty's Captain, his First Officer, and every surviving member of the crew insist that attack was clearly deliberate.

They were there. They experienced it. They know the difference between an accident and a deliberate attack. They have no reason to lie -- and they say it was deliberate.

But you say it was an accident.

Why?


Anyone who wants to know the truth should read, Assault On The Liberty, by Lt. James Ennes, the Liberty's First Officer and survivor of the attack. Read what he has to say, how he knows it could not have been an accident, and how the crew was placed under strict orders to keep their mouths shut about it!

While there have been a number of orchestrated "hearings" by the Navy, there never has been a Congressional investigation of that attack in which the crew members would have an opportunity to testify in open court. There was a Congressional investigation of a President's blowjob but no investigation of something as serious as this!

Why?

Of all the unanswered questions, the assorted "whys" of the attack 47 years ago today could best be answered by a public investigation now, before more of the eyewitness principals die of old age. Many across the political spectrum acknowledge the truth that all governments lie; governments that lie about the murders of those who serve in its military should not be confused with governments interested in the best interests of its civilians.

 

[georgephillip]

thanks for reminding us ....

Some history should not be forgotten, IMHO

"By patching together different systems, the ship's radio operators had ultimately been able to send a brief distress message that was received and acknowledged by United States Sixth Fleet forces present in the Mediterranean.[26]

"Upon receipt of that message the aircraft carriers USS Saratoga and USS America each launched aircraft to come to the aid of USS Liberty.[27]

"The reported attacking aircraft were declared hostile and the rescue aircraft were authorized to destroy them upon arrival.[28]

"The rules of engagement, authorizing destruction of the attackers, were transmitted to the rescue aircraft 'in the clear' (i.e., they were not encrypted).

"Shortly after the Sixth Fleet transmission of the rules of engagement to its dispatched rescue aircraft, the Israeli torpedo boats suddenly broke off their attack and transmitted messages asking if USS Liberty required assistance.[29]

"At the same time, an Israeli naval officer notified the US Naval Attaché at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv that Israeli forces had mistakenly attacked a United States Navy ship and apologized.

"The Naval Attaché notified the United States Sixth Fleet[30] and rescue aircraft were recalled before they arrived at the scene of the attack.[31]

"At about the same time as the cessation of the torpedo boat attack, Israeli attack helicopters arrived over the ship.[32]

"Survivors report that the helicopters were packed with men in combat battle dress.

"The Captain of USS Liberty gave the order to 'prepare to repel boarders'[33] but the helicopters departed without attempting to land their troops."

USS Liberty Memorial: Summary of Events

 

[georgephillip]

thanks for reminding us ....

Of what?



I forgot

USS Liberty: Contact Page

 

[JWBooth]

Accident?

About as much an accident as the 9/11 attacks.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Some people have a different definition of current events than normal people.