Posted on 10/04/2007 11:12:27 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
State Rep. Marlin Schneider has been raving for years to his fellow legislators about an attack on the unprotected American spy ship USS Liberty in 1967 by Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats that killed 34 and injured 171.
The Wisconsin Rapids Democrat has repeatedly tried to get a resolution through the Assembly asking Congress for an investigation of the attack. But Israel says the attack was a case of mistaken identity during the Six-Day War against several Arab states, and Schneider has been met with boredom and occasional sneers from his colleagues. Some say the Wisconsin Legislature has no business considering an international matter.
This week, however, the Chicago Tribune published a comprehensive report that included reviewing now-unclassified documents and interviewing people who were on the ship and nearby in the Mediterranean at the time.
The men still living who were on the ship during the attack want a full-fledged investigation. The Tribune account presents some evidence to support their contention that the Israelis knew what they were attacking and that the nearby 6th Fleet first sent out planes to intercept the Israelis and then called them back.
Some contend that Israel feared the U.S. spy ship might intercept plans to widen the war, or that the attack might draw the United States into the war if the U.S. thought Arab forces had hit the ship.
Israel apologized and paid reparations to survivors and family members of the dead and made a payment to the U.S. government for the loss of the ship.
Schneider became interested in the matter in 1998, when he got an e-mail from an Oshkosh man asking whether the federal government could be petitioned about an investigation of the attack.
"I thought it was a no-brainer, an attack on an American ship in which a young sailor from Fond du Lac, Duane Margraaf, was killed," Schneider said.
"But someone warned me that this would be viewed as an assault on the nation state of Israel. As soon as you say something about it, the Jewish lobby crawls all over you, and they call you an anti-Semite."
His resolution went nowhere, and the Assembly decided not to petition the federal government about anything, after which Schneider's fruitless resolutions asked other states to petition Congress for an investigation.
The men who served on the Liberty believe that the attack was deliberately carried out by the Israelis.
"I talked to some of the guys who were on the ship who said that Israeli planes flew over for hours on a sunny day when the American flag was clearly displayed and even tipped their wings," Schneider said.
"But all the sudden they launched a violent attack. A distress signal was sent to the Sixth Fleet, which sent planes to intercept the planes attacking, but Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara literally called the planes back. They were not allowed to defend the ship."
Despite the Tribune investigation, Schneider doesn't think that Congress will do anything about the matter.
Link to Chicago Tribune story is in original article at link.
I wasn’t sure if posting links from the Trib was “kosher.” ;)
A couple of old Liberty threads here:
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Attack on the USS LIBERTY - Part I (6/8/1967) - Sep. 8th, 2003 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/977970/posts
and here:
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Attack on the USS LIBERTY - Part II (6/8/1967) - Sep. 9th, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/978625/posts
With that said, the incident happened 40 years ago, the Israelis paid reparations to family members and the U.S. government, and went on to do good work on our behalf in the Middle East, often unappreciated. It's probably time to let the Liberty incident go... Just MHO.
I’ve come to the same conclusion. If we are going to be angry about anything, it should be LJB and that idiot McNamara that bear the brunt of it.
And some other USS Liberty threads:
USS Liberty [NSA declassified more documents on 40th anniversary]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1847390/posts
Israel blamed for USS Liberty attack
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1056805/posts
Cover-Up Alleged in Probe of USS Liberty
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1006812/posts
Vets Seek Probe Of Israeli War Crimes (USS Liberty incident)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1420173/posts
Declassified documents show Israel’s 1967 attack on USS Liberty ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/943547/posts
A+Bert’s favorite topic....Are you still alive Bert?
Hell, the Pueblo is still sitting in Wonsan harbor as a Communist tourist attraction.
We ought to be REALLY PO'd about that...but we're not for political reasons.
Full agreement on the Pueblo.
Agreed. There is nothing gained after forty years.
The only curious thing....if the aircraft carrier’s commander had been aggressive and allowed fighters to proceed...several Israel fighters would have been likely shot down. The navy would have fired the vessel’s commander and an apology would have come from the US....and never from the Israel government.
I don't know anything about Duane Margraaf, but I'm always a bit questioning of articles framing the issue in the context of it's about time we had an investigation. Leaving out the fact that there have been 11 prior government investigations, 6 congressional. The appeal, which has been made to every President since Reagan is for a 12th, not a first.
===================
Vets Seek Probe Of Israeli War Crimes (USS Liberty incident)
Tony & Krista are talking about the USS LIBERTY!!!!!
Navy Crew Gathering Examines 1967 Israeli Attack of USS Liberty
USS 'Liberty' hit was unintentional, says CIA
I haven’t followed it that long but what struck me is the obviousness (to me at least) each side is covering up their incompetence. The “flag” to signal jet fighters is a stupid story, just like the suggested “motive” that Israel would have attacked a ship off Sinai over worries the US would tip off Syria over Israeli plans to attack it. Geographically stretch, to say the least.
Of course I could be wrong, and the most likely way I am wrong IMO is that we were assisting Egyptian forces. Think about it, why would Americans on the Liberty suggest they were attacked because Israel feared Americans would inform Syrians? A little guilty conscience because that’s exactly what we were doing for the Egyptians?
I agree with you 100%.
“They were still in captivity when the Israelis attacked the Liberty.”
No, they were not. The Liberty incident happened i June 1967. The Pueblo was captured in Jan. of 1968.
Oops, my bad! The Pueblo Incident happened a year and half later! Thanks for the correction!
Listen, I know this is not popular with many of you contrarians but we were in the wrong. The loss of life we suffered was awful but it was a US Naval vessel operating under a liberal president who was up to no good with regards to the Israelis.
Regardless, it is over and by and large it is either contrarians [not conservatives], liberals or jew haters that keep trying to stir this subject up.
"Israel apologized and paid reparations to survivors and family members of the dead and made a payment to the U.S. government for the loss of the ship."
Case closed.
As explained to me by a historian,
“This is the first time our government has sided with a foreign power over the word of US military officers.”
You are pretty far behind the times. In 1999, the Clinton crowd allowed the North Koreans, unmolested, to sail it around the South Korean peninsula to Nampo. It is now anchored in the Taedong River at Pyongyang.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.