Posted on 08/23/2009 10:38:01 PM PDT by Dubya
Israel’s deadly 1967 attack on U.S. spy ship is personal for S.C. author The inexplicable attack by a U.S. ally — and subsequent efforts to sweep the incident under the rug by U.S. and Israeli officials alike — is the subject of Charleston author James Scott’s book, “The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel’s Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship.”
In compiling his book, Scott, 34, a former reporter for The (Charleston) Post & Courier and The (Rock Hill) Herald, makes use of interviews with survivors, sailors’ correspondence with loved ones, ship records and declassified government documents.
He provides a harrowing and frequently graphic account of the one-sided attack and its aftermath, when President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration was reluctant to publicly challenge Israel’s claim that it had incorrectly identified the U.S. ship.
After detailing the attack, Scott spends much of his book poking holes in Israel’s claim of mis-identification, as well as highlighting the U.S. government’s flawed, shallow inquiries into the attack.
For example, Scott documents that U.S. investigators never interviewed any Israelis about the attack, and that some U.S. officials considered sinking the Liberty to prevent newsmen from photographing its extensive damage and inflaming public opinion against Israel.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestate.com ...
Lemond describes it as a “total whitewash job.”
The Liberty’s sailors are upset no one was ever punished for the attack.
I thought that Israel sunk the ship because it was intercepting Israeli communications and giving it to the Arabs.
That is the most popular explanation. Those with a hatred against Israel would never be satisfied with that- only with repayment in kind.
The author's lack of historical knowledge shows. Israel and the US were certainly no allies in 1967.
/will read later
I thought that Israel sunk the ship because it was intercepting Israeli communications and giving it to the Arabs.The liberty guys say it was to keep the liberty from detecting the massacre of Egyptian civilians and POWs.
Johnson was an unprincipled coward. He wouldn’t stand up to the Israelis, even to ask for an investigation, because it might cost him politically. Absolutely shameful. But not surprising considering his record in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the survivors are probably right that 43 years later, it’s too late to do anything about it.
Of all the possibilities that I just read about, that seems the least convincing. Why would the Liberty discover the massacre if it had happened?
The author's lack of historical knowledge shows. Israel and the US were certainly no allies in 1967.They were, although they kept up a pretense of neutrality. The US viewed the six day war as a proxy war with the US proxy(Israel) against soviet proxies(Syria, Jordan and Egypt). The US kept a carrier battle group to defend Israel in case they started to lose. The soviets didn't like it and almost caused WWIII. Read this if you don't believe me.
Of all the possibilities that I just read about, that seems the least convincing. Why would the Liberty discover the massacre if it had happened?Don't ask me. That's what *they* think.
As a matter of fact, that is exactly how the War in Vietnam was lost by Johnston.
[McNamara:] We had had a carrier group in the Med and fairly close to Israel, and we'd sent it on a training exercise toward Gibraltar. And then we thought the situation was so tense in Israel that perhaps the Syrians, fearing Israel would attack them, or the Russians supporting the Syrians might wish to redress the balance of power and might attack Israel. So we turned the carrier group around and sent it back toward Israel, not with any intention whatsoever of supporting an Israeli attack on Syria, or any Israel offensive moves whatsoever, but rather purely to be able to defend Israel in the event of further attacks on Israel.
McNamara certainly does not call Israel a "US proxy." The US gave little military aid to Israel in the LBJ years.I call a carrier group backing you up if you start to lose "military aid", but I may just be regressive.
Why did they shoot up the Liberty if we were aiding them? Have they attacked any US ships since the Nixon administration when we actually began aiding them?
I find it curious they mentioned his age. Why would they do that?
Why did they shoot up the Liberty if we were aiding them? Have they attacked any US ships since the Nixon administration when we actually began aiding them?Ask the Israelis that. The rest of your logic is pretty tortured. The US *had* been selling weapons to Israel although France was its major benefactor before(The US was notably against Israel taking the sinai).
can’t say I’ve ever figured this one out....it gets mighty heated real quick
you guys are pretty smart
any thoughts?
Where is the “Oh, Geez...” Guy when you need him (sigh)?
Thank you. I should have scrolled through the comments before I posted.
If Israel bragged about sinking the ship that would be a different issue.
I wonder how many books would sell that describe SPYING as a dangerous and risky business.
I wonder how many books would sell that describe SPYING as a dangerous and risky business.lol... John Pollard would agree.
or attacking
Doesn’t mean a few don’t get away with it.
Many, many years ago I had the opportunity to read the classified Congressional Report on the Attack on the U.S.S.Liberty. I was working in a military library containing all classified documents.
What I am about to say next has nothing to do with the Congressional report but is my own speculation. Something to remember about Israel in the 1960s is how much that small nation relied on Jewish emigrants from around the globe to increase its population. Large ethnic Jewish groups emigrated to Israel, and not all of those ethnic groups, like the Russians, liked or admired the U.S.A.
I’ve always speculated that a rogue element in the Israeli military, very anti-American, possibly Russian, initiated the attack and did so outside of the Israeli command structure. The result was so overwhelmingly embarrassing to the Israeli government that it hasn’t been able to own up to the fact. This is, IMHO, a possibility.
Just a SWAG on my part as I was a mere 14 years old then.
Israel was on the verge of extinction, and was willing to use nuclear retaliation if it became obvious that it was about to be destroyed.
The Liberty, as a spy ship, would have been aware once Israel started to prepare to launch. LBJ may well have prevented the launch if he was aware of it, so the attack on the Liberty would have kept him from knowing what was going on.
I don’t know why LBJ covered it it up, but it make have been his ego not being willing to admit he’d been outflanked. Or maybe he didn’t want to admit that he knew Israel had nukes. Or just maybe, buying Israel’s obvious lie was their reward for not unleashing Armageddon.
I’m still a supporter of Israel, but this has always felt wrong.
That is the most popular explanation.
I thought the most popular explanation was that Israel did not want the United States to know how much territory they were capturing.
How could they possibly hide that, except for very temporarily.
That attack was intentional, too /sarc.
What?!?
Hardly a month goes by without this event being dragged into center stage.
The is a fellow here in Charlotte, NC that was on the tug that towed the Liberty after the attack. The crew was warned that no pictures be taken, but he has some. I saw the pics in 1994 when we worked together.
The theory is that Israel wanted to hide the extent of its incredible acquisition of territory for as long as possible because if this had become known there might have been diplomatic pressure from the US and elsewhere to end the war even sooner.
Of course if Israel was worried about diplomatic pressure, then bombing our ship wouldn't exactly make sense, but not everything makes sense in a war.
IMHO it is not implausible that the military leaders of a country at war would be paranoid about the possible effects from any other country spying on them.
This is just Socialist Obama administration bringing this up again to help their Arab commie buddies. It’s in the past. Forget about it. Obama can “forgive” the Lockerbie bomber so forget about this mistake by the Israelis.
bttt
Here we go again...
Best explanation I've heard.
bump
The Military Channel last week had a very interesting show about this war.
The top brass of Israel apparently totally undestimated the power and capability of Egypt and even Syria.
The Israeli brass sent their tanks into battle without air support and infantry support.
That arrogance cost a lot Israeli tankers their life and things looked pretty grim along the Nile and back where Israel was fighting Syria during the first few days of the 67 war.
What if the Liberty intercepted some Mutually Assured Destruction scenario with nuclear weapon communications from Israli brass and politicians if the battle hadn’t turned around to Israel’s advantage?
Something happened and the Liberty was attacked and LBJ with his usual disdain of our military people in harms way allowed it to happen with no real consequences. LBJ did it again with the Pueblo in 1968. LBJ seemed to have a grudge against the Navy Security Group, Navy Pilots and Air Force Pilots. He had no problem putting them in harms way and forgetting about them when they were captured due to his meddling in Nam, Laos, Cambodia and ?.
They were very concerned at the time that we would reveal to the Arabs their preparation for the war. Thus they delibertately attacked it for two hours and stopped only when they believed it would sink. Thanks to the crew, it did not and sailed it backwards for 700 miles without any assistance from our own navy. They even shot up all the lifeboats and assumed all hands go down with the ship.
members of the crew wrote a book entitled ATTACK ON U.S.S. LIBERTY. the CT’s received a royal screwing by our democratic controlled government.
They sure tryed to hide the fact that the Jews killed all of these Americans w/o any warning. Very cruel and cowardly of the Jews. Some day they will have to answer to our Maker.
Who gave the recall order? Did this order cost more US sailors lives? I presume the fighters were recalled because the US did not want to attack a presumed ally.
These are questions I would have loved to have asked Robert S. McNamara or any other senior US official who was in the loop that day.
"And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire."(Rev 20:12-15)
You are right.
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