Posted on 06/10/2007 6:43:34 AM PDT by yuta250
Forty years ago this week, I was asked to investigate the heaviest attack on an American ship since World War II. As senior legal counsel to the Navy Court of Inquiry, it was my job to help uncover the truth regarding Israel's June 8, 1967, bombing of the Navy intelligence ship Liberty.
On that sunny, clear day 40 years ago, Israel's combined air and naval forces attacked the Liberty for two hours, inflicting 70 percent casualties. Thirty-four American sailors died, and 172 were injured. The Liberty remained afloat only by the crew's heroic efforts.
Israel claimed it was an accident. Yet I know from personal conversations with the late Adm. Isaac C. Kidd – president of the Court of Inquiry – that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of “mistaken identity.”
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?
Today, survivors of Israel's cruel attack will gather in Washington, D.C., to honor their dead shipmates as well as the mothers, sisters, widows and children they left behind. They will continue to ask for a fair and impartial congressional inquiry that, for the first time, would allow the survivors themselves to testify publicly.
For decades, I have remained silent. 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, attempts to rewrite history and concern for my country compel me to share the truth.
Adm. Kidd and I were given only one week to gather evidence for the Navy's official investigation, though we both estimated that a proper Court of Inquiry would take at least six months.
We boarded the crippled ship at sea and interviewed survivors. The evidence was clear. We both believed with certainty that this attack was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew.
I am certain the Israeli pilots and commanders who had ordered the attack knew the ship was American. I saw the bullet-riddled American flag that had been raised by the crew after their first flag had been shot down completely. I heard testimony that made it clear the Israelis intended there be no survivors. Not only did they attack with napalm, gunfire and missiles, Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned at close range three life rafts that had been launched in an attempt to save the most seriously wounded.
I am outraged at the efforts of Israel's apologists to claim this attack was a case of “mistaken identity.”
Adm. Kidd told me that after receiving the president's cover-up orders, he was instructed to sit down with two civilians from either the White House or the Department of Defense and rewrite portions of the court's findings. He said, “Ward, they're not interested in the facts. It's a political matter, and we cannot talk about it.” We were to “put a lid on it” and caution everyone involved never to speak of it again.
I know that the Court of Inquiry transcript that has been released to the public is not the same one that I certified and sent to Washington. I know this because it was necessary, due to the exigencies of time, to hand-correct and initial a substantial number of pages. I have examined the released version of the transcript and did not see any pages that bore my hand corrections and initials. Also, the original did not have any deliberately blank pages, as the released version does. In addition, the testimony of Lt. Lloyd Painter concerning the deliberate machine-gunning of the life rafts by the Israeli torpedo boat crews, which I distinctly recall being given at the Court of Inquiry and including in the original transcript, is now missing.
I join the survivors in their call for an honest inquiry. Why is there no room to question Israel – even when it kills Americans – in the halls of Congress?
Let the survivors testify. Let me testify. Let former intelligence officers testify that they received real-time Hebrew translations of Israeli commanders instructing their pilots to sink “the American ship.”
Surely uncovering the truth about what happened to American servicemen in a bloody attack is more important than protecting Israel. And surely 40 years is long enough to wait.
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Boston served as chief counsel to the Navy's Court of Inquiry into the attack on the U.S. Navy intelligence ship Liberty. He also served as a naval aviator in World War II on the carrier Yorktown and as an FBI agent prior to his assignment to the Navy's Judge Advocates General Corps. He is a graduate of the the College of William and Mary School of Law and a resident of Coronado.
All I can say is Wow. I knew nothing about this. I’m 65 and must have been in my own little world when this happened.
I’d like to learn more.
He’s right. This is a tragic chapter in US naval history, and the truth should come out.
The attack on the Liberty isn’t the only thing LBJ covered up, the murder of his predessor was coverd up too.
Bump for later
I don't mean to go off-topic, but this puts to rest those that say the terrorist attack against TWA Flight 800 could not have been covered up by the White House.
Not too hard to do, when there are orders from the very top to do so.
If we believe there were sinister intentions toward the Liberty, The next question that HAS to be asked is, “What does Israel gain from an attack on an American ship?”
While attending Air Force Squadron Officers School in 1968 The 1967 war with the use of preemptive air strikes and bold war activities on three fronts held our attention. We studied and analyzed all the factors involved and observed that the Liberty was there, not by accident, but by choice. Had Israel not held the day, I believe that US Forces woule have been called in to support Israel.
Let's not forget that one day after Israel was established by the UNITED NATIONS!!!! The surrounding Arab states, (United Nations members), launched thier military forces against this new state. Nasser, Pharoh wannabe of Egypt, was the most humiliated when his forces were driven from the Sinai and Israel forces had bridged the Suez and were a short march from Cairo.
I'm not surprised that our involvement was covered up by LBJ and MacNamara!
The Liberty was an American listening ship in international waters monitoring war transmissions in the area and somebody didn’t want to be listened to. Further according to the PBS documentary this is the first time a fighting ship had its decks NAPALMED.
Yep.
I think that at the time of the attack, Israel simply could not take the chance that the A-rabs would be WARNED in some sort of ideotic ‘even-handed’ policy of ‘being fair to both sides in the conflict.
It is ALWAYS difficult for bystanders to understand which side the US is on—always.
I’m 58 yrs. old & I remember it vaguely as I was in Japan as a military dependent. Little coverage in the Stars & Stripes. All the details were in a duplicate of this article in an issuelast week of The Washington Times in the form of a full page advertisement.
First I had read or seen the full story in my life!
"The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a U.S. Navy intelligence ship, USS Liberty, in international waters about 12.5 nautical miles (23 km) from the coast of the Sinai Peninsula, north of the Egyptian town of El Arish, by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats on June 8, 1967."
"It occurred during the Six-Day War, a conflict between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The Israeli attack killed 34 U.S. servicemen and wounded at least 173. The attack was the second-deadliest against a U.S. warship since the end of World War II, surpassed only by the Iraqi Exocet missile attack on the USS Stark on May 17, 1987, and marked the single greatest loss of life by the U.S. intelligence community."
"The Israeli and American governments conducted multiple inquiries into the incident, and issued reports concluding that the attack was the result of a mistake, caused by confusion among the Israeli attackers about the precise identity of the USS Liberty. These conclusions have been challenged, most notably by an organization of Liberty survivors as well as by some key former high-ranking U.S. officials who were in office at the time. These skeptics have included Secretary of State Dean Rusk, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of the NSA, and the senior legal counsel to the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry into the incident. While the matter is officially closed for purposes of Israeli-American relations, it remains controversial in public discussion."
"Israel's official position is that the attack was not the result of an intentional targeting of an American ship. Israeli officials say they were assured by the United States that no U.S. ships were in the area, and that its air and naval forces mistakenly identified Liberty as the Egyptian vessel El Quseir. Supporters of this position say Israel had no motive for a surprise attack on an important ally. They also note that the tense atmosphere of the Six-Day War created the possibility of such mistakes, and point out that the U.S. government, concerned about such dangers, ordered the Liberty further away from shore (although communications failures kept the order from arriving in time).[1] Finally, they note that the United States has several times mistakenly attacked its own and allied forces in so-called friendly fire incidents."
"Others claim that the attack was deliberate and premeditated. They note that the Liberty was more than twice as large as the El Quseir, and was clearly designated with Latin rather than Arabic letters and numbers. Proponents include surviving Liberty crewmen,[1] and some former U.S. government officials, including then-CIA director Richard Helms and then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk as well as Admiral Thomas Hinman Moorer, former Chief of Naval Operations and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
"On December 17, 1987, the issue was officially closed by the two governments through an exchange of diplomatic notes. Israel also eventually paid nearly $13 million in humanitarian reparations to the United States and in compensation to the families of the victims. [2]"
There is much more in this article here.
I've known of the incident for a long time. I know that many of the people who would want a further investigation of this are acting in good faith, but some anti-semites have used this attack to attack the US's support for Israel. Did you catch this line in the story "Surely uncovering the truth about what happened to American servicemen in a bloody attack is more important than protecting Israel."? What's the real agenda here, the truth about what happened or erroding support for a fellow democratic nation fighting for its existence?
"The LIBERTY's presence and function were known to Israel's leaders. They presumably thought it vital that the LIBERTY be prevented from informing Washington of their intention to violate any cease-fire before they had completed their occupation of the Golan. Their solution was brutal and direct... "
The Attack on the USS Liberty and its Cover-up - by Ambassador James Akins
The article contains much more. It's well worth reading.
That was my reaction to this story as well. I've heard various accounts of this incident over the years, but this comes straight from the horse's mouth that the attack was in fact deliberate. Ward Boston is hardly a conspiracy theorist, he was an insider, and now wants the record set straight for posterity. But this begs many questions, such as why would Israel do such a thing, and why would LBJ feel compelled to cover it up? Was it for geo-political reasons, or did the Israelis have some compromising dirt on him? Whatever the case it's well past time these facts come out, anything less would be an insult to the servicemen killed and wounded in the attack. It's hard for me to imagine that Israel could deliberately do such a thing, but keep in mind that we were not as close allies with them at that time as we are today.
The article you linked to appears to be missing.
Some things are done for reasons of state, that cannot be explained to ordinary people given the limitations of the MSM and factions within the system that would exploit the truth as a weakness.
How could an American administration (run by a sociopathic LBJ) explain to the American people that Israel had to silence an American intelligence ship because it could not trust LBJ not to give aid to its enemies?
One thimg I would like to know is why American forces in the area did not come, at once to the Liberty’s defence .I
read,somewhere, that navy planes were launched and then called back .
It would be perverse to use this as an argument not to investigate.
Did you catch this line in the story "Surely uncovering the truth about what happened to American servicemen in a bloody attack is more important than protecting Israel."? What's the real agenda here, the truth about what happened or erroding support for a fellow democratic nation fighting for its existence?
So what if the truth is perceived as likely to erode such support? Is it then legitimate to perpetuate a cover-up? Is that in fact what has been done for the last forty years? If there was and has been a cover-up, is it not legitimate to ask why?
You seem to be playing a double game here. Some people who want an investigation are "acting in good faith", you say, but if they suspect a cover-up then they must have a suspect "agenda".
So what's your agenda? Finding the truth, or something else?
And the cruise missile attack on the Pentagon
Consider: Occam's Razor & Fog of War
or this one?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident
Good question.
From what I understand, there were both Arabic and Russian translators aboard and no Hebrew speakers, indicating our intelligence gathering was not focused on the Israelis, but rather on the other side. But assuming for the sake of argument that the Israelis did fear that our intelligence gathering was directed against them, to deliberately take out an American ship with napalm and strafing the 3 lifeboats to insure no survivors is an outright act of war, no question about it. Why would the Israelis think they could get away with something like this without suffering serious retaliation? Did they know that they could blackmail LBJ into covering this up? I can't think of any other rational explanation for it.
If I have an agenda, it is that I'm for the spread of freedom in the world. I believe that it's fair to spread democracy by our arms in cases like Germany and Japan in WWII and in Iraq today. Otherwise, the spread should be from within the countries with our support. I opposed communism for a long time. And I'm very much pro-Israel because I'm in favor of democracy and against terrorism. Beyond that, I don't have a real big agenda.
They were instructed from the highest levels that this matter was to remain a top secret national security matter and their oaths required them to honor this, even if they were uncertain as to the reason for this policy, are you faulting them for not violating their oath? After 40 years it's obviously no longer a matter of national security, and Ward Boston has decided to come forward to set the record straight.
Are you sure those are the only two possibilities?
“What’s the real agenda here, the truth about what happened or erroding support for a fellow democratic nation fighting for its existence?”
We must have the Truth! Let the chips fall where they may…
“George Ball (undersecretary of state under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson):
“The LIBERTY’s presence and function were known to Israel’s leaders. They presumably thought it vital that the LIBERTY be prevented from informing Washington of their intention to violate any cease-fire before they had completed their occupation of the Golan. Their solution was brutal and direct... “
No wonder they couldn’t score a quick win in Viet Nam.
That doesn’t even make any sense. They’re going to hide violation of a cease-fire by starting to shoot?
In 1970 a spook told me that LBJ did more than just cover up. According to this guy, he agreed in advance that the Israelis would sink the Liberty with all hands to prevent something from getting out. And not violation of a cease fire. It was something that the Liberty had done with and for the Israelis.
Comrade Klinton was famous for “leveling the playing field” hence our “crown jewel” secrets and more are no more.
Wrong. I implied that you backhandedly impugn those who do seek an investigation.
Check out the following pdf file @ ussliberty.com labeled:
“War Crimes Committed Against U.S. Military Personnel, June 8, 1967”
http://www.ussliberty.com/report/report.pdf
Clip:
“That on June 8, 1967, after eight hours of aerial surveillance, Israel launched a two hour air and naval attack against USS Liberty, the world’s most sophisticated intelligence ship, inflicting 34 dead and 173 wounded American servicemen (a casualty rate of seventy percent, in a crew of 294);”
Good question but information will never see the light of day.
No. I saw too much of this in the military back in the day. They didn’t want to put their promotions/salaries at risk. Obviously they knew they were part of a lie. And they helped. They should have resigned, and blown the whistle. They didn’t. And the claim of “national security” when an ally attacks your ship and kills your sailors and other personnel is so thin, it’s gossamer. It is, howver, cover for Mr. Boston’s collusion in the coverup. They let the survivors swing in the wind for all these years, because their version, and the government’s differed.
Sorry, no “Attaboy” or “Profiles in Courage” for Mr. Boston from this quarter.
I made no argument and don’t care if Congress investigates. I truly think there is no there there, but if there is then let the chips fall where they may. I said some of these people calling for the investigation are of good faith. I stand by that. I also think some of the people attracted to this story are anti-semites, conspiracy nuts, inveterate Israel haters, and kooks. There are kooks who think the Bush administration blew up the Pentagon. Over the years, some of the supporters of this investigation into the USS Liberty have been funded by Arab governments with a clear anti-Israel agenda. Maybe that should be investigated too. But again, if these pro investigation of the USS Liberty sinking can get congress to investigate, then fine. I hope no one holds his breath on it. You can accuse me of having an agenda, but I think Congress right now believes its got other more pressing issues.
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ping
Agreed.
And I subscribe to more than my share of conspiracy theories, FWIW.
Funny how there is not one word about the NSA tapes released a few years ago of a conversation between Israeli pilots indicating they had no idea the Liberty was an American ship. This is a top notch conspiracy. The Israelis did not even know about it.
Before the war, Israel asked the US for a Naval Liason, we refused to provide one. We did promise that no US military vessel would be east of Cyprus. Hence Israel had no reason to think that there was an American ship in the area or believe that the ship ID was real.
After the attack, the facts were simply too embarassing for everyone, so there wa sa mutual cover-up.
Ping
Bump
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