U.S.S. Liberty [NSA declassified more documents on 40th anniversary]

National Security Agency ^ | June 8, 2007 | NSA

[Dajjal]

http://www.nsa.gov/liberty/

U.S.S. Liberty

What’s new?

On 08 June 2007, the National Security Agency (NSA) finalized the review of all material relative to the 08 June 1967 attack on the USS Liberty. This additional release adds to the collection of documents and audio recordings and transcripts previously posted to the site on 02 July 2003.

The attack on the USS Liberty, like others in our nation's history, has become the center of considerable controversy and debate. It is not NSA's intention to prove or disprove any one set of conclusions, many of which can be drawn from a thorough review of this material. Instead, through these public releases, we intend to make as much information as possible available for the many scholars, historians, academia, and members of the general public who find interest in analyzing the information and forming their own conclusions.

• Chronology of Events
• Oral History Interviews
• Audio Recordings & Transcripts
• Follow-up Reports
• DIRNSA Messages
• USS Liberty Messages
• U.S. Navy Messages
• Naval Security Group Messages
• Field Unit Messages
• Joint Chiefs of Staff Messages
• CINC Messages
• National Military Command Center Documents
• U.S. Air Force Messages
• Defense Intelligence Agency Messages
• State Department Correspondence
• Miscellaneous Memoranda and Reports
• Photographs

  Please Note: These historical documents are PDF images of formerly classified carbon paper and reports that have been declassified. Due to the age and poor quality of some of the PDF images, a screen reader may not be able to process the images into word documents. In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, individuals may request that the government provide auxiliary aids or services to ensure effective communication of the substance of the documents. For such requests, please contact the Public Affairs Office at 301-688-6524.

[sofaman]

Interesting theory...however, the war ended in 6 days. I had heard just recently that Russia had threatened to attack Israel if it went further than some specific date that coincided with the date the ‘67 war ended...

[kabar]

There is lots of primary material in there including from some of the survivors. The ship was not only attacked by Israeli planes but Israeli torpedo boats just yards away. The Liberty was flying the holiday ensign. It was clearly a US ship.

War Crimes Committed Against U.S. Military Personnel, June 8, 1967

[the_daug]

I actually prefer the fog of war accident because of inconstancy on the part of conspiracy theorist testimony and the sworn testimonies given and , Liberty close proximity to a very hot and fast moving war. But if it was on purpose there is reason and the US government does not want that reason known that leaves me with the prospect that, Israel was justified in the action.

[gcruse]

I can live with that.

[Polybius]

The only explanation for an accidental attack is total and absolute incompetency in ship recognition in broad daylight by both Israeli naval and air forces. I can't buy that.

"Fog of War" happens.

Always has. Always will.

1914-1918 – World War I: The French have estimated that more than 75,000 French soldiers were casualties of friendly artillery in the four years of World War I[5]..... 1939 (10 September - early World War II) – British submarine HMS Triton sank another British submarine, HMS Oxley, mistaking it for a German U-boat and having received no responses to challenges. Oxley was the first Royal Navy vessel to be sunk and also the first vessel to be sunk by a British vessel in the war. .... 1940 - Italian Air Marshal Italo Balbo shot down by his own side. .... 1940 - Operation Wikinger: German destroyer sunk by Luftwaffe bombs, another sunk by mines during confusion[8] .... 1941 - Fleet Air Arm torpedo attack on HMS Sheffield during the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck .... 1941 - RAF fighter ace Wing Commander Douglas Bader shot down in what recent research suggests was a friendly fire incident [9]. .... 1942 - Polish submarine ORP Jastrząb was mistakenly sunk by British destroyer HMS St. Albans and minesweeper HMS Seagull. .... 1943 – Operation Husky (Allied Invasion of Sicily): 144 C-47 transport planes passed over Allied lines shortly after a German air raid, and were mistakenly fired upon by ground and naval forces, 33 planes were shot down and 37 damaged, resulting in 318 casualties. .... 1944 - British flotilla attacked by RAF Hawker Typhoons, off Cap d'Antifer, Le Havre. HMS Britomart and HMS Hussar sunk. HMS Salamander damaged beyond repair and scrapped. HMS Jason escaped major damage. .... 1944 - Operation Wintergewitter (Winter Storm) - Italian Front: American forward observer John R. Fox called down fire on his own position to stop a German advance on the town of Sommocolonia, Italy. In 1997 he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for this action. .... 1945 – Operation Bodenplatte (Baseplate): 900 German fighters and fighter-bombers launched a surprise attack on Allied airfields, approximately 300 aircraft were lost, 237 pilots killed, missing, or captured, and 18 pilots wounded - the largest single-day loss for the Luftwaffe, many losses were due to friendly anti-aircraft guns. .... 1956 - Suez: Attacks from British Royal Navy carrier-borne aircraft caused heavy casualties to UK 45 Commando and HQ..... 1967 - USS Liberty Incident when Israeli aircraft attacked U.S. Navy ship in international waters during the Six-Day War (between Israel and Egypt). .... 1968 - USS Boston, USS Edson, USCGC Point Dume, HMAS Hobart and two U.S. Swift Boats, PCF-12 and PCF-19 are attacked by US aircraft on June 17 in the Vietnam War.[10] Several sailors were killed and PCF-19 was sunk. [11] .... 1969 - U.S. Helicopters attack U.S. 3/187th Infantry Battalion CP during the Battle of Hamburger Hill, killing two and wounding thirty-five, including Lt. Col. Weldon Honeycutt. ...... 1974 - Turkish Destroyer Kocatepe was sunk by Turkish aircraft during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. 1982 - HMS Cardiff shoots down AAC Gazelle (UK) in the Falklands Islands. .... 1982 - 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, British Army (UK) Companies A and C engage each other in an hour-long firefight in the Falkland Islands involving heavy weapons and artillery strikes. At least 8 UK casualties. .... 1982 - United Kingdom UK Special Boat Service Commando killed in firefight with UK Special Air Service Commandos. Falkland Islands. .... 1991 - American A-10 during Operation Desert Storm attacks British armoured personnel carriers killing nine British soldiers (the same number as were killed by enemy fire in the whole war). .... 1992 - USS Saratoga during a no-notice exercise that included a simulated RIM-7 launch; confusion ensued, and a sailor launched into the bridge of the Turkish destroyer Muavenet killing 5. .... 1994 - In the Black Hawk Incident, two U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles involved with Operation Provide Comfort shot down two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks over northern Iraq, killing 29 military and civilian personnel. .... 2001 - American F/A-18 dropped 3 Mk-82 bombs on a friendly observation post killing six and wounding 11 at Al Udairi Range, Kuwait. ... 2002 - American F-16 pilot Harry Schmidt killed four Canadian soldiers and injured another 8 in the Tarnak Farm incident. .... 2003 - American aircraft attacked a friendly Kurdish & U.S. Special Forces convoy, killing 15. BBC translator Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed was killed and BBC reporter Tom Giles and World Affairs Editor John Simpson were injured. The incident was filmed. [12] .... 2003 - American Patriot missile shot down in error F/A-18C Block 46 Hornet 164974 of VFA-195 50 mi from Karbala, Iraq, killing the pilot. .... 2003 - American Patriot missile shot down a British Panavia Tornado GR.4A ZG710 'D' of 13 Squadron killing the pilot and navigator, Flight Lieutenant David Rhys Williams and Flight Lieutenant Kevin Barry Main, both from 9 Squadron.... 2003 - British Royal Marine Christopher Maddison killed when his river patrol boat was hit by missiles after being wrongly identified as an enemy vessel approaching a Royal Engineers checkpoint on the Al-Faw Peninsula, Iraq.[6] .... 2003 - British Challenger 2 tank came under fire from another British tank in a nighttime firefight, blowing off the turret and killing two crew members, Corporal Stephen John Allbutt and Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke [13] .... 2003 - 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident - March 28, 2003 when a pair of American A-10s from the 190th Fighter Squadron attack four British armoured reconnaissance vehicles of the Blues and Royals, killing Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, during the invasion of Iraq. .... 2004 - Pat Tillman, famous American football player and friendly fire victim in Afghanistan .... 2005 - American soldier Mario Lozano is suspected of killing Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari and wounding Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena in Baghdad. Sgrena had been kidnapped and subsequently rescued by Calipari; however, it is claimed that the car they were escaping in failed to stop at an American checkpoint, and U.S. soldiers opened fire. .... 2005 - American troops opened fire on a Bulgarian convoy. Junior Sergeant Gardi Gardev was killed. .... 2006 - Two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt IIs strafed their own NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, killing Canadian Private Mark Anthony Graham, and seriously wounding five others when soldiers were trying to seize a Taliban stronghold along the Arghandab River. Graham was a former Canadian Olympic athlete who competed on the Canadian 4x400 Men's Relay Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. .... 2007 - American airstrike killed eight Kurdish Iraqi soldiers. [14]

[the_daug]

The Liberty was recording all electronic transmission and who's and what location of that transmission and beaming it to Cyprus where the computers necessary to do real time mapping of the progress of the war was being done. The leak was suppose to have originated out of, Cyprus. Israel intelligence noticed that there movement in the Sinai was some how being countered effectively by Egypt. Israel intelligence found out too the Intelligence the Egyptians were getting originated from, Cyprus. Israel gambles the leak is from the Liberty since channels takes time and men are dying. If there is a conspiracy there is a reason the US government did not want the real answer known which would justify Israels action.

Personally, I prefer that it was an accident of war. People are tired and fatigued from fighting for their existence for three days. Liberty was in close proximity to a very hot and fast war.

[sofaman]

I agree, hence my question. It makes absolutely no sense.

[Zack Nguyen]

A number of senior U.S. military and governmental figures, including then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk have gone on record saying they believed that the attack was deliberate and that Israel covered up the truth.

] If I rememebr his autobiography correctly, Richard Helsm of the CIA believed this as well. It is hard to imagine that such a thing would be possible.

[Zack Nguyen]

A number of senior U.S. military and governmental figures, including then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk have gone on record saying they believed that the attack was deliberate and that Israel covered up the truth.

] If I remember his autobiography correctly, Richard Helms of the CIA believed this as well. It is hard to imagine that such a thing would be possible.

Sorry for the double post - the first message was some sloppy typing!

[thinking]

Take a look at the released photos....there is a BIG sat antenna sitting midships.... antenna

[GATOR NAVY]

Thanks, I had never heard of that.

[PsyOp]

Shit happens when bullets fly in war. It’s called friendly fire. Misidentification happens all the time. We have killed many more of our own and our allies since the Liberty incident.

I’m sure there are Canadian conspiracy theorists who think the bombing of their troops by the USAF in Afghanistan was part of some Bush/Rumsfeld conspiracy.

[ASA Vet]

"The TRSSCOM installation in USS Liberty never was reliable and was totally disabled during the Israeli attack on the ship during the Arab-Israeli War of 1967."

Source: Gebhard, Louise A. Evolution of Naval Radio-Electronics and Contributions of the Naval Research Laboratory. Report 8300. Washington, DC: Naval Research Laboratory, 1979.

[CutePuppy]

Personally, I prefer that it was an accident of war. People are tired and fatigued from fighting for their existence for three days. Liberty was in close proximity to a very hot and fast war.

That's also most likely explanation. Also, flag and identification of Liberty could have easily been faked by Egyptians. The other explanation could be if Israel had reasons to believe that Liberty was there to intentionally act against Israel's interests - a slightly different scenario than just being a conduit of information that could be used against it... (refer to post #58 and similar ones on this thread)

If I remember his autobiography correctly, Richard Helms of the CIA believed this as well. It is hard to imagine that such a thing would be possible.

Please, see posts #58 and #59 for abbreviated list of "usual suspects" and their credibility...

Nonetheless, I expect USS Liberty to be at least an annual recurrent thread.

[wideminded]

Interesting theory...however, the war ended in 6 days.

That's why every hour counted for the Israelis. Obviously the US was going to discover pretty soon that Israel had conquered the entire Sinai peninsula, etc., but it was in Israel's interest to put this off as long as possible.

The ground assault in the first Gulf War only lasted a few days, but people spent years complaining about what we could have done if we kept it going a little longer.

I had heard just recently that Russia had threatened to attack Israel if it went further than some specific date that coincided with the date the ‘67 war ended...

I wonder if they were prepared in any way to carry out such an attack and were taking into account what we might do in return.

[thinking]

A second theory floated, was that the WH was passing intercepts to Soviet Embassy....regardless how it is cut, there was real time data link communications, via satellite, or (unlikely) HF....and my own thoughts...wonder how much John Walker could be involved in this....it is recorded that he approached the Soviets in March 1967....

[Dajjal]

Where Islam is the menace. Jews and Israel are a footnote in the global Jihad. One arm of which is conquering Europe via immigration, sucking off madly generous European welfare programs, via making far more babies than European families
THE DEMOGRAPHIC JIHAD

I agree!

[dynoman]

"If you read through the newly released material, there is support for the understanding that the aircraft identified the ship as American on the first pass."

The translated conversation between the Israeli helicopters is interesting because it is at the end of the 1247Z-1319Z transcript at 1312Z that they finally identify the Liberty as US and the request for additional passes to make sure it is really an American Flag.

>>This is that document. <<

Again the multiple requests to make sure the flag is American is at 1312Z AFTER the attack, not before like the conspiracy theorists say.

We told the world we had no ships within 350-400 miles of the war zone;

Israel had reports of shelling from the sea;

They saw a ship from land;

They sent out planes and boats to attack a ship they had no reason to believe was US and a multitude of reasons to believe was an enemy ship.

Here is the timeline;

Click for the actual document;

1205Z Liberty attacked by six unidentified jet fighters

1225Z three Israeli torpedo boats approach Liberty

1427Z? (This time is questioned on this document it might be a typo since it does not match other communications.) Liberty took torpedo boat under fire by 50 caliber machine guns at a range of 2000 yards. Torpedo boat launched torpedo which one minute later hits Liberty.

This document states the time of the torpedo boat approach at 1237Z and the torpedo hit at 1245Z

This document puts the torpedo hit at 1235Z

Another document that puts the torpedo hit at 1230Z

Another document that puts the torpedo hit at 1235Z

1255Z Two helicopters orbit Liberty, these are likely the ones in the conversation intercepted by the U.S. Navy EC-121.

Four Armed A-1's Due Launch, 1322Z

1324Z IDF admits torpedoing Liberty by mistake.

[PAR35]

The translated conversation between the Israeli helicopters

I was referring to the initial runs by the Mirages, not the post-attack helicopters.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

Missing you.