Yiftah Spector (Jonathan Bloom)
Posted on 10/10/2003 9:29:50 AM PDT by yonif
An Israeli pilot who mistakenly attacked the American intelligence ship USS Liberty during the 1967 Six Day War said they were lucky he had no bombs – otherwise he would have sunk her.
"There was a mistake. Mistakes happen. As far as I know, the mistake was of the USS Liberty being there in the first place," said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yiftah Spector.
After 36 years Spector, who this week was dismissed by the IAF for signing the pilots' refusal letter protesting the policy of targeted killings, agreed to speak to a reporter for the first time on his role in the attack on the Liberty, an American spy ship strafed on the fourth day of the war.
Flying a Mirage III fighter jet code named "Kursa" or couch, Spector was the first pilot to reach the ship, which was about 20 nautical miles west of Gaza. He had been on an air-to-air mission and was not loaded with bombs.
Spector, now 63, went on to become a triple ace, shooting down 15 enemy aircraft, and take part in the 1981 raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor, earning himself a place in the pantheon of Israeli fly boys. This week he ended a 20-year stint teaching new generations of pilots.
Spector had always refused to discuss the attack on the USS Liberty, which killed 34 US sailors and wounded 172, or even be revealed as the pilot who led the attack on her. Until now.
"I did not fire on the Liberty as a human target. I was sent to attack a sailing vessel. This ship was on an escape route from the El Arish area, which at that same moment had heavy smoke rising from it," Spector said.
"It was thought to be an Egyptian vessel. This ship positively did not have any symbol or flag that I could see. What I was concerned with was that it was not one of ours. I looked for the symbol of our navy, which was a large white cross on its deck," he told The Jerusalem Post. "This was not there, so it wasn't one of ours."
The concern of the IAF was that Spector and his wingman, who had been diverted from the Suez Canal, would strike one of the Israel Navy ships in pursuit of the vessel, which was assumed to be Egyptian. IAF archival recordings of the pilots' radio transmission of the actual attack obtained by the Post show that Spector was specifically requested to verify that the ship was a military vessel and not Israeli.
According to the June 8, 1967, radio transmission, Spector said: "I can't identify it but in any case it's a military ship."
Speaking of the event 36 years later may have caused Spector to mix what he remembered with what he may have read and his testimony does not always match archival facts.
"I circled it twice and it did not fire on me. My assumption was that it was likely to open fire at me and nevertheless I slowed down and I looked and there was positively no flag. Just to make sure I photographed it," said Spector, who retired from active duty as a brigadier-general in 1984.
Experts intimately acquainted with the incident said that the only photos Spector took were from his gun-sight camera during his strafing run. Regardless of whether the 455-foot ship bristling with eavesdropping antennas flew a US flag, which it evidently did from its starboard halyard, that banner was shot off in Spector's first strafing pass.
"I was told on the radio that it was an Egyptian ship off the Gaza coast. Hit it. The luck of the ship was that I was armed only with light ammunition [30mm] against aircraft. If I had had a bomb it would be sitting on the bottom today like the Titanic. I promise you," Spector said.
The 30mm rounds were armor piercing, which to this day led Liberty survivors to believe they had been under rocket attack. Spector's first pass ignited a fire which caused the ship to billow black smoke. Ironically, Spector transmitted he suspected the Liberty was putting out smoke to deliberately mask itself.
"Every order is given by commanders and the last one to receive it has to decide whether he will pull the trigger or not. In this instance I was the fighter. I checked what I had to check [i.e. that it was a military ship and not one of ours] and pulled the trigger," Spector said.
"The crew should be thankful for their luck [that I was on an air-to-air mission and did not have any bombs]. It is a pity we attacked. I'm sorry for poor Capt. (William Loren) McGonagle, who was wounded in the leg and the other guys who were killed and wounded."
"I'm sorry for the mistake. Years later my mates dropped flowers on the site where the ship was attacked," Spector said. "I'm the last guy who has a problem with admitting mistakes and asking for forgiveness. There was a mistake, but it wasn't my mistake."
He added he remains baffled that the conspiracy theories live on that Israel deliberately attacked the US intelligence ship. He suggested it might be due to anti-Semitism, or anti-Israeli sentiments.
"I know that after the war one of the first things that was done was the establishment of a [US] senator's inquiry. I know this personally, because I was called upon to testify before it. They came to the country and I was questioned. I told them what I told you just now – that there was a mistake. I am sorry for the mistake. In war mistakes happen," Spector said.
He said that he had never in the past 36 years ever met with any of the Liberty survivors, but has no qualms about doing so now.
"They must understand that a mistake was made here," Spector said. "The fool is one who wanders about in the dark in dangerous places, so they should not come with any complaints."
Yiftah Spector (Jonathan Bloom)
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If it is reapeated enough times, it will become "truth", so wait for more, and more.
Dosen't sound like it to me.
"I'm the last guy who has a problem with admitting mistakes and asking for forgiveness. There was a mistake, but it wasn't my mistake."
Aftur all, he vass only following orders!
Do I read this right? This guy was one of the Israili's who has reufused attack missions in the disputed lands because they might hurt innocent Pali's? Little bit selective about our remorese, aren't we, Pali?
Read the book investigating this called "The Liberty Incident" by A. Jay Cristol, a federal judge.
You tell urself that big boy. Whatever helps you sleep at night right?
That quote was a bit arrogant in my view. Given that his mistake killed and wounded over 200 soldiers from a nation without which Israel would probably not exist. No wonder the IDF canned him recently, this guy shoots from the hip a bit.
Sounds like he's a bit of an outlier. Maybe that was a factor in the attack on the Liberty.
..."They must understand that a mistake was made here," Spector said...
"The fool is one who wanders about in the dark in dangerous places, so they should not come with any complaints."
Speaking of the event 36 years later may have caused Spector to mix what he remembered with what he may have read and his testimony does not always match archival facts.
No matter how we structure his comments I would be so bold as to suggest he never take up diplomacy and never ever visit the United States.
He got one thing right. He is a fool.
Where are you? Haven't heard from you lately!
Interesting observation.
There was no conspiracy. Israeli commanders made a decision to attack everything that was of non-Israeli military value. They knew damn well Liberty was there.
Who was to blame and who is lying is up to God.
I wish they'd just leave this be. I don't want to be angry with the Isrealis but I do when this incident comes up & the excuses start. This guy needs to cop to incompetence, at least.
As one who generally supports Israel's actions and often thinks they are too restrained in dealing with the Arabs, I find this statement arrogant. Even more, Israel should worry about its citizens who bite the hand that feeds them. I have trouble with pilots who can't distinguish antennae from cannon or missile launchers. What Arab navy had a ship that would look like the Liberty? I can’t explain Israel’s motives. Only they know what they were thinking, but it seems that the incident was more than a simple mistake.
That's an intersting question. Equally interesting is why you think a fighter-pilot would know the answer, before or after being ordered to attack, as is claimed.
Accurate identification of things from the air is just one of those things that seems theoretically easy, but in practice is nearly impossible.
The idea of telling "cannon" or "missle launchers" from "antennas" from an aircraft traveling 400+ mph, no matter how low it is, is simply laughably impossible.
There's an incredibly long history of egregious errors in identification by pilots dating back to WWI.
US Navy ships were attacked by US Navy and Air Corps aircraft in World War II. Destroyers were identified as Battleships, cargo vessels or tankers as aircraft carriers.
And you're upset that the IAF pilots weren't able to accurately view precise details of small pieces of equipment on the Liberty, or spend hours carefully studying Jane's Fighting Ships to determine what the Liberty was?
Heck, I remember a thread on a friendly fire incident last week where a USMC Vietnam vet FReeper recounted incidents where they were repeatedly attacked by USAF aircraft for extended periods of time, despite frantic use of flares, radio call-offs, etc.
This is just one of those things where people will refuse to "get it."
And how is the logic of this statement any different than saying 'Criticism of an African-American is automatically racist'? Expressing doubt about the official Liberty story is not anti-Semitism.
Rather like we did with the Brits and the Canadians? Hmmmm....?
At your service!
Why didn't they sink it?
In 1967, Egypt was at war with Israel. The territory from where the Liberty was at was being bombarded. The Liberty was thought to be the Egyptian ship doing that. Israel was told no US ships were in the area.
I simply posted this because it was a first, I have ever read, of a former pilot who took part in that mistaken attack giving an interview.
"There was a mistake. Mistakes happen."
Painting.......sanding.......cleaning.......This is not the type of service that appeals to a world-class traveler like yourself.
BTW....what does that gibberish say underneath the server? I hate it when you do that.
The Liberty was a non-combatant vessel sailing in international waters in broad daylight, flying the flag of an ally.
Undeniable? What about Pollard?
Don't get me wrong - I'm a supporter of Israel, based solely on principle. But anyone who does not think that Israel has their own agenda, and gets far more from the relationship than we do, has their head buried in the sand.
In 1967, Egypt was at war with Israel. The territory from where the Liberty was at was being bombarded. The Liberty was thought to be the Egyptian ship doing that. Israel was told no US ships were in the area.
From the article, "It was thought to be an Egyptian vessel. This ship positively did not have any symbol or flag that I could see. What I was concerned with was that it was not one of ours. I looked for the symbol of our navy, which was a large white cross on its deck," he told The Jerusalem Post. "This was not there, so it wasn't one of ours."
So if it dosen't have the Israeli cross on it, it must be the enemy?
This attack went on for hours without fire returned to the Israelis. If the Israeli pilots have to take time to look for signs whether or not it is an Israeli ship, can't they assess other attributes of the ship? No hostile motion. No cannons. No other armament. No armed escort? Just a sitting duck out in the sea. The Liberty didn't shoot at any of the Israeli war planes thoughout the long attack, so therefore it must be an ememy ship? This is not a simple mistake.
Israel was at war. US told Israel it did not have any ships in the area. Fire was coming out of that area. Israel scrambled fighters there. Israel knew it did not have any ships there because of the fact it had to scramble these fighters.
Why didn't they sink it?
Gee, I don't know.
Do you suppose the arrogant bastard missed?
Do you suppose he really didn't have any bomblets?
Do you suppose he couldn't see from the smoke?
Do you suppose his wingman signaled he had screwed the pooch?
You damn Kahane freaks just don't get it do you?
Many years ago there was a pretty dumb portrayal of The Ugly American and while it was true of only a handful of jackasses who were as rude and stupid at home on the golf-course as they were in Raffles there was some truth to the charge. But no matter; the idea stuck and just like the ugly American 92% of the globe thinks Jews are arrogant whiners and guess who gets to inherit the backlash from the arrogant jerks like this puke? I do and you do if you're Jewish.
There is plenty of anti-Semitism around; don't encourage more.
I have a suggestion for Ariel and the rest of the sassy right wing zealots. Trade this puke for Pollard and shut up.
All pilots, especially fighter pilots, tend towards the arrogant. Actually his remark it's just a blunt statement of fact, and his opinion that our ship was where it should not been.
My dog once got in a fight with another dog. I tried to break it up and got bit by my own dog. There was no conspiracy. Just me sticking my hand in where it did not belong and getting bit by accident.
If we're going to cling to the conspiracy theories regarding the Liberty, then we should keep our mouths shut when the Arabs talk conspiracy about the downing of that Iranian airliner by our most sophisticated of ships, or when the Canadians demand prosecutions because of our bombing their troops in Afghanistan.
When the shooting starts and the adrenaline starts flowing, soldiers, all soldiers, tend to shoot first and ask questions later. Accidents tend to happen. It's called friendly fire and it's a problem in every conflict.
As for identification of the Liberty, flags are tough to identify when there is little or no wind and they're draped down the pole. They're even harder to identify when you are flying 400 to 500mph in a jet fighter. Ask any Navy pilot. Why do you think Isreali ships had big white crosses painted on them? Flags are hard to identify from fast moving aircraft even if they're flying in a stiff breeze. I know this from first hand experience.
The Liberty is a matter more than one fast fly-by. It was a sustained attack. I suggest you read through a webpage which draws on the firsthand accounts of the US servicemen who were there. An excerpt giving a summary account is given below. For all the intelligence the Israelis are capable of among Arabs and on American soil, I find it incredible to believe that they did not know the USS Liberty was in the area.
“On 8 June 1967 the electronic intelligence ship USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was on station in international waters 13 miles off the Sinai Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean. The Arab-Israeli War had wound down, the air was clear, and the seas were light. What happened early that Thursday afternoon is well known. Without warning, a furious attack on the ship commenced from Israeli Mirage and Mystere jets, followed by Ayah-class motor torpedo boats (MTBs). Employed were rockets, napalm, quick-firing 30-mm and 40-mm cannon, .50-caliber machine guns, and torpedoes. Four unshielded .50-caliber machine guns were the Liberty's only defense. The one Israeli torpedo hit of five launched left a yawning 40-foot hole in the hull, devastating the cryptological spaces below decks and killing 25 U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) technicians instantly.”
I've not only been through the website top to bottom, I've read two books on the subject, seen at least that many TV documentaries, and beat this dead horse into jerky here and at Liberty Post.
The crews of the torpedo boats were in no better position to make a correct identification than the pilots. I have practical experience in teaching threat identification as an Army Intelligence officer. Compared to ships (excluding major warships like CV's and BB's), identifying tanks and aircraft is a piece of cake, and you'd be suprised how hard it is to teach soldiers to properly do it even in a classroom environment. Put them in a real threat situation and they tend to screw it up everytime.
In fact, in the first gulf war, fratricide was so bad that the Army practically gave up trying to teach soldiers threat identification through vehicle classification. That's why all of the vehicles had those zebra striped panels on them this time around. Anything without an ID panel gets shot--period.
Lastly, there is the adrenaline factor. In any given situation, once a shot is fired, all bets are off and everyone starts shooting at any imagined target.
I proved this point during an ftx by going out to the perimeter and firing my M-16 out into the woods beyond our defenseive line. It was broad daylight, no threat in sight. Within 15 seconds every weapon in the batallion was engaged firing at nothing. Later I repeated the demonstration by firing on a vehicle clearly marked as "friendly" (big visible "Blue Force" ID panels). Same thing happened. This whole thing was done to prove a point a point about fire discipline.
Now, if this is the way trained soldiers react in peace time, firing blanks, how do you think they will react when they are at war and have been sent to attack a ship they have been told is firing at their troops?
Even police have this problem. Remember that kid in NY that was blasted 19 times because he reached for his wallet? One cop misinterpreted what the guy was doing and as soon as he fired one shot, he and his partners emptied their clips.
My take on what happened is that the Liberty was mistaken for the Egyptian ship that the Isreali pilots and sailors were sent to intercept, and predisposed to identify as such. A horrible mistake abetted by Johnson's ordering the ship into an area we had been warned against entering.
The Isrealis had nothing to gain and everything to lose by deliberately attacking a U.S. warship.
The Liberty's crew members and their family's are angry over what happened, justly so, but their anger IMHO is mis-directed.
"In war more than anywhere else in the world things happen differently from what we had expected, and look differently when near from what they did at a distance." - Clausewitz, On War, 1832.
"War is the province of uncertainty; three fourths of the things on which war is based lie hidden in the fog of greater or less uncertainty." - Clausewitz, On War, 1832.
"It is my opinion that coordination is a very much-misused word and its accomplishment is difficult." - General George S. Patton, Jr., War As I Knew It. 1947.
"In... a close fight a soldier has not time to change his mind." - General George S. Patton, Jr. November 22, 1942.
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