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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:
| Israel became convinced that nothing they might do would
offend the Americans to the point of reprisal. If America’s leaders did
not have the courage to punish Israel for the blatant murder of
American citizens, it seemed clear that their American friends would
let them get away with almost anything. |
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:
| The ensuing cover-up has haunted us for 40 years. What does
it imply for our national security, not to mention our ability to
honestly broker peace in the Middle East, when we cannot question
Israel's actions – even when they kill Americans? |
*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.
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