New Findings Reveal Israel and the U.S. Covered Up Attack on USS
Liberty
A report released Oct. 22 on Capitol Hill by former officials from the
highest level of the military and government revealed that Israel
"committed acts of murder against American servicemen and an act of
war against the United States" when it deliberately attacked the USS
Liberty and killed 34 American crewmembers in 1967. (Findings of the
Independent Commission of Inquiry are available on the Web at
<http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/ussliberty.html>)
In a sworn affidavit read at the press conference, Capt. Ward Boston,
chief attorney to the original 1967 Navy Court of Inquiry, stated that
then-President Lyndon Johnson and then-Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara ordered the Court of Inquiry to cover up the attack by
presenting it as a mistake.
"For more than 30 years I have remained silent on the topic of the USS
Liberty," Boston stated. "I am a military man and when orders come in
from the secretary of defense and president of the United States, I
follow them.
"However, recent attempts to rewrite history compel me to share the
truth," he explained. "In particular, the recent publication of Jay
Cristol's book, The Liberty Incident, twists the facts and
misrepresents the views of those of us who investigated the attack…
Contrary to the misinformation presented by Cristol and others, it is
important for the American people to know that it is clear that Israel
is responsible for deliberately attacking an American ship and
murdering American sailors."
Commissioners asked for a new and honest naval inquiry into the 1967
attack, as well as an investigation as to why the U.S. government
covered up the Israeli attack.
"The men of the USS Liberty were representing the U.S.," said Admiral
Thomas Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "They
were attacked for over two hours by Israeli air force and navy units,
with 70 percent American casualties and the eventual loss of our best
intelligence ship.
"These sailors and marines were entitled to our best defense," Moorer
insisted. "We gave them no defense. The findings of this commission
are irrefutable. Every other attack on a ship in our history has been
investigated by our Congress except this one.
"Nor has Congress ever investigated the recall by the White House of
U.S. Navy aircraft sent to rescue the Liberty while the ship was still
under attack," he added. "The White House cancellation of the Navy's
attempt to rescue the Liberty is the most disgraceful thing I have
witnessed in my entire military career.
"Why would our government put Israel's interests ahead of our own?"
the admiral asked. "Does it continue to do so? This is an important
issue that should be investigated by an independent, fully empowered
commission of the American government.
"Our own Independent Commission of Inquiry findings have grave
implications for our national security and for the American people,"
Moorer said. "In order to confront this problem, the American people
and our elected officers will need to overcome their fear of the
pro-Israel lobby in the United States."
Immediately following the Israeli attack, the ship's survivors were
threatened with "court martial, imprisonment or worse" if they did not
remain silent. However, with the passage of time, many have stepped
forward to say that the attack was undeniably deliberate and that
justice must be served. Despite numerous attempts to be heard, no
previous inquiry has taken public testimony from surviving
crewmembers.
—Courtesy If Americans Knew
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