Yep. I am definitely wrong.
France had the embargo.
But the US and USSR did work together to counter Israel, France, and the UK in the Suez Crisis.
And the (communist infested) State Department was strongly opposed to offensive Israeli action. The Israelis had a lot to hide at the time, including the fact that they initiated the war.
So I am sticking with the possibility that the Israelis were trying to prevent intelligence from leaking before they accomplished their objectives. That is a heck of lot more believable than the the IAF mistaking the Liberty for the El Quseir.
http://www.newislander.com/ports/2010/01/unveiling_the_attack_on_the_uss_liberty/diagram.jpg
http://www.gtr5.com/evidence/img_1.jpg
The fact that we didn’t respond violently is good proof of our friendship with Israel.
Not really. The Soviets were attempting at that time to gain influence in the Mideast. The US was trying to block them and eventually replace Britian and France who were both hated amoung Arab nationalists as colonial powers as the lead influence in the mideast. And it was all about oil.
Also don't forget that the Soviets threatened to nuke London, Paris and Isreal during the crisis which would have set off WW III. Probably an idle threat, but no one knew for sure at that time. Keep in mind, the Suez Crisis was going on against the backdrop of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
It really had nothing to do with Commies in the State Dept. Eisenhower himself called all the shots.
The Israelis had a lot to hide at the time, including the fact that they initiated the [1967] war.
Israel freely admits firing the first shots. But they knew damn well from their Intel operations that Eqypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq were ready to attack them in a matter of hours or days. We knew it too. It was a gun fight and Israel was quicker on the draw. The attack on the Liberty happened several days after the war began. Any intel they may have had on initiating hostilities would have already been reported.