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Time to expose Washington’s cover up of Israel’s murder of US sailors
By Paul Balles*13 June 2007 Forty years after the Israelis strafed a US warship in international waters, killing 34 and wounding 172 American sailors, Paul J. Balles argues that it is time for the truth to be exposed. The date of 8 June marked the 40th anniversary of the Israeli attack on the American naval ship USS Liberty. To this day the US Navy, the Department of Defence, the American administration and Congress have indulged in an elaborate cover-up. On 8 June 1967, Israeli aircraft strafed the Liberty, took out its communications ability and jammed American radio frequency to prevent an SOS. One call for help did get through. American aircraft responded but were ordered to return to base by then Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara. The attack from the air wasn’t enough for the Israelis. They fired six torpedoes at the Liberty, one of which blew a huge hole in the hull of the ship. Not satisfied that the destruction was complete, the prime ally of the US in the Middle East strafed the Liberty by helicopters. From the ferocity of the 75-minute attack, it was clear the intent was to sink the ship and leave no survivors. The unprovoked attack was intended to kill everyone aboard. Despite the later claim by the Israelis that it was an accident, there has been incontrovertible testimony that the Liberty was easy to identify. There was no question of mistaken identity. From the evidence, the judge advocate-general of the navy, Admiral Merlin Staring, was convinced that conclusion was impossible. Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, President of the Court of Inquiry, said that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of “mistaken identity”. Admiral Kidd and Ward Boston, Jr, senior legal counsel to the Navy Court of Inquiry, "believed with certainty that this attack was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew". Former US Undersecretary of State George Ball said:
By under-reporting the numbers – nine dead and 75 wounded – the media attempted to "minimize the unjustifiable nature of the attack”. The dead numbered 34 with 172 wounded. The survivors were told not to say anything to anyone, and if they did they faced the possibility of court martial or penitentiary or worse. Some didn't talk about the attack to anyone for almost 20 years. Intercepted messages between the Israeli war room and their planes revealed that pilots were ordered to attack the ship. They replied immediately that it was an American ship. Israeli headquarters responded: "You have your orders." The pilots responded again that it was an American ship: "We can see the flag." Headquarters repeated you have your orders: attack it!" They did. Both Israeli and American authorities claimed that no one saw the US flag, but comments overheard by American intelligence sources revealed references to a US flag on the ship in communications between Israeli aircraft and a torpedo boat. The Israelis lied, the Johnson administration lied and the mainstream American media has ignored the evidence. Many of the survivors have come forward with the story they were afraid to tell when they were told to shut up or else suffer the consequences. It’s time for the truth to be exposed. Ward Boston, Jr wrote:
*Paul Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for 38 years. For more information, see http://www.pballes.com. Copyright © Redress Information & Analysis. All rights reserved. |
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