Former Chief Navy Counsel Alleges Cover-Up by LBJ of 1967 Israeli Attack on U.S. Ship

AP ^

[TheOtherOne]

Former Chief Navy Counsel Alleges Cover-Up by LBJ of 1967 Israeli Attack on U.S. Ship
By Jennifer C. Kerr Associated Press Writer
Published: Oct 22, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - A former Navy attorney who helped lead the military investigation of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty that killed 34 American servicemen says former President Lyndon Johnson and his defense secretary, Robert McNamara, ordered that the inquiry conclude the incident was an accident.

In a signed affidavit released at a Capitol Hill news conference, retired Capt. Ward Boston said Johnson and McNamara told those heading the Navy's inquiry to "conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary."

Boston was senior legal counsel to the Navy's original 1967 review of the attack. He said in the sworn statement that he stayed silent for years because he's a military man, and "when orders come ... I follow them."

He said he felt compelled to "share the truth" following the publication of a recent book, "The Liberty Incident," which concluded the attack was unintentional.

The USS Liberty was an electronic intelligence-gathering ship that was cruising international waters off the Egyptian coast on June 8, 1967. Israeli planes and torpedo boats opened fire on the Liberty at what became known as the outbreak of the Israeli-Egyptian Six-Day War.

In addition to the 34 Americans killed, more than 170 were wounded.

Israel has long maintained that the attack was a case of mistaken identity, an explanation that the Johnson administration did not formally challenge. Israel claimed its forces thought the ship was an Egyptian vessel and apologized to the United States.

After the attack, a Navy court of inquiry concluded there was insufficient information to make a judgment about why Israel attacked the ship, stopping short of assigning blame or determining whether it was an accident.

It was "one of the classic all-American cover-ups," said Ret. Adm. Thomas Moorer, a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who spent a year investigating the attack as part of an independent panel he formed with other former military officials. The panel also included a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, James Akins.

"Why would our government put Israel's interests ahead of our own?" Moorer asked from his wheelchair at the news conference. He was chief of naval operations at the time of the attack.

Moorer, who has long held that the attack was a deliberate act, wants Congress to investigate.

Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Regev disputed any notion that Israel knowingly went after American sailors.

"I can say unequivocally that the Liberty tragedy was a terrible accident, that the Israeli pilots involved believed they were attacking an enemy ship," Regev said. "This was in the middle of a war. This is something that we are not proud of."

Calls to the Navy seeking comment were not immediately returned.

In Boston's statement, he does not say why Johnson would have ordered a cover-up. Attempts were made to reach Boston at his home in Coronado, Calif., but he did not return calls seeking comment.

Moorer's panel suggested several possible reasons Israel might have wanted to attack a U.S. ship. Among them: Israel intended to sink the ship and blame Egypt because it might have brought the United States into the 1967 war.

---

On the Net:

USS Liberty Memorial Web site: http://www.ussliberty.org

AP-ES-10-22-03 1943EDT

[yonif]

You are exactly right about the shamefulness of this. Congress was too cowardly to even investigate this attack on an American ship.

There have been numerous Congressional investigations: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1006226/posts?page=18#18

[SJackson]

You might find this article, Pilot who bombed 'Liberty' talks to 'Post, interesting, particularly as relates to the "identification" process, particularly 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. This was not there, so it wasn't one of ours... I checked what I had to check [i.e. that it was a military ship and not one of ours] and pulled the trigger,

[SJackson]

Right, eleven US investigations, and every US President since Johnson, including Nixon, Reagan, Ford and both Bush's (assuming you're an R) are shills for the Jews.

Shameful, Thorin.

[Thorin]

The American sailors who survived the attack have stated that the Libery was flying the American flag.

Anyone wanting to learn about this attack should visit the detailed and exhaustive website maintained by the survivors of the attack at http://www.ussliberty.org

[Thorin]

Those on record as stating the attack was deliberate include former Chairman of the Joint Cheifs Admiral Moorer, former head of the National Security Agency Adm. Inman, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency Richard Helms, and former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, as well as the American survivors of the attack. All anti-Semites, eh? <

[John Beresford Tipton]

"Moorer's panel suggested several possible reasons Israel might have wanted to attack a U.S. ship. Among them: Israel intended to sink the ship and blame Egypt because it might have brought the United States into the 1967 war."

Plausible, keep us stuck in the middle of their shiite.

[Poohbah]

The American sailors who survived the attack have stated that the Libery was flying the American flag.

OK, your closest point of approach is 1,000 feet, and you're moving at eight miles per minute--over two football fields PER SECOND. You're also approaching the target along its longitudinal axis to maximize your chances of hitting the target if you ID it as hostile--and, incidentally, making it damn near impossible to see the flag if it's streaming straight aft. Your primary recognition cue for a friendly ship is a large white cross painted on the deck.

Oh, BTW, the price tag for going too low and slow over an enemy ship is getting shot down.

Make the call. You can't see the flag unless it's flapping off to the side just as you make your approach. There's no white cross on the deck that conclusively IDs the ship as a friendly.

Make the call.

[SJackson]

Sorry, you need to defend your statements. I'm aware of the controversy. I'm aware of the background. The site has details of the investigations which you say never happened.

To discuss this any further, and maintain your credibility, you're going to have to explain to me how all eleven investigations (and I couldn't care less if they have another one, though GWB is against it) are frauds (giving you the benefit of the doubt, you said there were none, I'm sure that was a mistake) and how every President since Johnson, Republican and Democrat, along with hundreds of congressmen from both parties are "shills for Israel". Short of that, I conclude you're talking out of your *ss.

[Spirited]

In order to rectify the oversight Israel engendered its own Naval liason. His name is Jonathan Pollard.

[SJackson]

Those on record as stating the attack was deliberate include former Chairman of the Joint Cheifs Admiral Moorer, former head of the National Security Agency Adm. Inman, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency Richard Helms, and former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, as well as the American survivors of the attack. All anti-Semites, eh?

I'm aware of both Moorer and Inman's opinion.

No, I never said they were antisemites, did I?

You're a liar.

You brought the antisemite *hit in, just now bozo.

I'll wait for your evidence that all American Presidents since Johnson are shills for Israel. Nice if you'd start with GWB, or perhaps Reagan.

If you prefer, you can show me, and the other Freepers you slander me in front of, where I've accused Moorer or Inman of being anti-semites.

Trolls like you are really boring, you need some original material.

[SJackson]

I found that interview illuminating. A real hot dog, I'm sure he looked for the cross, but I suspect that was all he looked for.

[x]

At that time (1967) the US Navy was being severely compromised by the Walker spy ring. All US Naval communications were being read by Moscow as if they were in clear text.

The KGB had choreographed every step of its meetings with Walker since his initial contact with the Russians in late 1967.

Walker began spying for the Soviets in 1968, and until the arrests of 1985, Walker's spy ring had furnished the Soviets with over a million messages and the keys to decipher them.

Try again. Walker didn't start working for the Reds until after the Six Day War. And how would the Israelis have known about him?

[yonif]

Try again. Walker didn't start working for the Reds until after the Six Day War. And how would the Israelis have known about him?

Bump. This is just like the claim Israel was receiving US aid at the time (as someone said on this thread), even though it did not begin in force after 1973.

[Thorin]

Admiral Thomas Moorer: "Congress to this day has failed to hold formal hearings for the record on the Liberty affair. This is unprecedented and a national disgrace."

I agree with Admiral Moorer.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the ping Samwise.

[sarasmom]

Oh and your friends aboard were communications experts?

Sheesh, in my professional military experience, two decades later, the USN would still not "talk" to the USAF during joint live ammo exercises, in areas subject to immediate hostile threats.
Much less would they squak to the IDF.

God bless the USN, and I mourn every loss of every DOD person, peacetime or actively engaged in declared operations.
SNAFU deaths are hard to accept.
Always and everywhere.
SNAFU, FUBAR deaths happen everyday to all military forces, worldwide.

I believe the USA has apologised to several other countries for similar incidents.

Reality sucks, doent it?

[yonif]

Wow, $23 million dollars. Only $13M of which was for the Israeli military. Some aid "package"

[yonif]

Actually, I take it back. Only $7 million aid in the form of a loan was given to the Israeli military.

[Poohbah]

Admiral Thomas Moorer: "Congress to this day has failed to hold formal hearings for the record on the Liberty affair. This is unprecedented and a national disgrace."

I agree with Admiral Moorer.

Reality disagrees with you AND Admiral Moorer.

Investigation	Date	Conclusion
U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry	June 10-18, 1967	The attack was a case of mistaken identity. Calm conditions and slow ship speed may have made American flag difficult to identify. No indication the attack was intended against U.S. ship.
CIA Report	June 13, 1967	The attack was not made in malice and was a mistake.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Fact Finding Team (Russ Report)	June 9-20, 1967	Outlined "findings of fact," bud did not make any findings about the actual attack.
Clifford Report	July 18, 1967	No premeditation, but "inexcusable failures" by Israeli forces constituing "gross negligence."
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations	1967	Secretary of Defense McNamara testified he supported conclusion that the attack was not intentional.
Senate Armed Services Committee	Feb. 1, 1968	No conclusion. Secretary McNamara makes comparison of attack on Liberty to that on Pueblo with regard to uncertainty about what was happening at the time of the incident.
House Appropriations Committee	April-May 1968	Navy communications "foulup" and no conclusion regarding Israeli actions. Much of report remains classified.
House Armed Services Committee	May 10, 1971	Critical of Navy communications, no conclusion regarding Israeli actions.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence	1979	Responding to critical book by Liberty crewman James Ennes, Senate investigation found no merit to his claim attack was intentional.
National Security Agency	1981	Liberty was mistaken for an Egyptian ship as a result of miscalculations and egregious errors.
House Armed Services Committee	June 1991	Responding to request from Liberty Veterans Association, Subcommitte on Investigations launched probe that concluded there was no evidence to support allegations made by the Association and no reason for further investigation.

Six investigations right there.