Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member
- Jun 6, 2018
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50 Years Ago: NSA’s Deadliest Day
A half-century ago, Israel attacked the USS Liberty, killing 34 Americans—an incident still shrouded in mystery.
observer.com
"June 8, 1967 was the worst day in the history of the National Security Agency. On that date, Israeli airplanes and torpedo boats mauled and nearly sank an American spy ship in international waters, killing or maiming most of its crew. This tragedy appears as a footnote to Israelis, an unpleasant sideshow of their victorious Six Day War, while official Washington preferred the embarrassing episode be forgotten.
On the fateful morning of June 8, the Liberty was sailing almost 30 miles north of the Sinai Peninsula, a war zone. Just before 2 p.m., two Israeli Air Force Mirage fighter jets raked Liberty’s decks with cannon fire. They were soon joined by three Israeli attack jets which executed multiple attack runs on the American ship -- By the time they ceased, nine Americans were dead or dying, and dozens more were wounded -- then shortly before 2:30 p.m., three Israeli Navy torpedo boats approached the Liberty, which was burning and littered with maimed sailors. They soon made an attack run on the wounded vessel, launching several torpedoes, only one of which found its target -- killing 25 more Americans; with cannon and machine gun fire, culling sailors trying to save their vessel and wounded shipmates."
My father was a US Naval vet who served in the Korean war and if it wasn't for him; I would have never learned about this years ago...Even now, I asked a few of my friends and colleagues about it; they never knew either....why?? Is this incident not worth being told and remembering?? Hollywood not making a movie about this one??
Why did it take nearly 40 years for us to find out that this wasn't just a simple "ooops, my bad" on the part of Israel?? In fact, there was confirmation that the Israelis knew in advance that it was an American ship. I see why the survivors of that attack are pissed at both their own government and the Israeli government for continuing the cover-up for this long -- but so many people not even knowing what happened at all is just another slap in the face.