USS 'Liberty' hit was unintentional, says CIA

New documents released by the State Department relating to the period of the 1967 Six Day War include CIA memos that say Israel did not know it was striking an American vessel when it attacked the USS Liberty off the coast of the Gaza Strip on June 8, 1967, killing 34 American sailors and injuring 172. The memos say the attack was carried out "by mistake, representing gross negligence."

Along with the release of the documents, the historian for the top-secret National Security Agency said Monday he believed available evidence "strongly suggested" Israel did not know it was bombarding an American ship.

On Monday, the State Department hosted a conference on the 1967 war, including the Liberty incident, to mark the release of a new volume of historical papers from the Johnson Administration. The 542 declassified documents, roughly 1100 pages in length, were culled from the archives of the White House, State Department, Pentagon and various intelligence agencies. They cover May through November 1967.

Historians said the new documentation included little new on the Liberty incident itself. It is still not known, for example, why the USS Liberty, an intelligence-gathering ship, was allowed to linger so close to the war zone, or why Israel was not informed of its presence in the area. Analysts said however that while its original mission remains murky, it was now evident that the ship was not sent to spy on Israel since the bulk of linguists on board spoke Arabic or Russian and the ship had no Hebrew translators to monitor Israeli communications in real time.

The most significant documents, transcripts of tapes of communications between an Israeli air controller and helicopter pilots sent to rescue the wounded from the attack, were released last July.

Those intercepts showed that the Israeli rescue pilots first identified the ship as Egyptian and gradually realized, after spotting a US flag, that the ship was American.

"A CIA memo of June 13 reported they had no intercepts from the attacking planes and torpedo boats, but that the helicopter pilots' communication left little doubt that the Israelis had failed to identify the Liberty as a US ship," said Harriet Schwar, editor of the newly released volume.

"A follow-up CIA memo on June 21st noted that the Liberty had been identified prior to the attacks but concluded that the Israelis were not aware at the time of the attack that they were attacking a US ship. It concluded that the attack was not made in malice, but was by mistake, representing gross negligence. The Defense Intelligence Agency reached a similar conclusion," Schwar added.

David Hatch, the National Security Agency Historian, said of the intercepted communications of the rescue pilots: "While falling short of proof, the intercepts to me suggest strongly the Israeli attackers did not know they were aiming deadly fire at a vessel belonging to the United States. The intercepted communications between the air controller at Hatzor and helicopters dispatched in the wake of the attack show a progressive reversal of perception on their part."

Included on the panel was James Bamford, an investigative journalist, who has written that Israel deliberately attacked the USS Liberty spy ship. Jay Cristol, a Miami-based judge who has written a book arguing that the attack was a mistake was also present, as was Michel Oren, author of a book on the Six Day War.

Bamford stood by his assertion that Israel had deliberately attacked the ship and that the US and Israel had orchestrated a "big cover up."

He read from a recent declaration by Ward Boston, who served as senior legal counsel for the Navy's Court of Inquiry into the Liberty attack. That Court concluded there was insufficient information to make a judgment about why Israel attacked the ship.

In his affidavit, Boston says, he and the Court were given only one week to gather evidence for the Navy's investigation, and that both he and the Court's president, Admiral Isaac Kidd, "believed with certainty that this attack...was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew."

"I am outraged at the efforts of the apologists for Israel in this country to claim that this attack was a case of mistaken identity. In particular the recent publication of Jay Cristol's book, "The Liberty Incident," twists the facts and misrepresents the views of those of us who investigated the attack," Boston says.

Cristol's presentation for the Liberty panel was prepared in conjunction with Ernest Castle, the United States Naval Attache' at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv in June 1967, who received the first report of the attack from Israel and advised the US, and John Hadden who was then the CIA Chief of Station in Tel Aviv. Both Castle and Hadden agree that the attack on the Liberty was a mistake.

Michael Oren, in his presentation, reviewed some of the mistakes Israel had made during the Liberty attack.

Earlier in the morning of June 8, the Israelis had surveyed and identified a ship in the area as the USS Liberty. A neutral green marker was placed on a model to represent the Liberty's position. Two hours later, the marker was removed since the ship's position would have changed by then and a new senior Israeli official came on duty who was not informed of the Liberty's presence in the area, Oren explained.

The removal of the marker, a miscalculation of the speed at which the Liberty was traveling that would have indicated it was not a warship, and a breakdown in communication between the Israeli Navy and Army were all Israeli errors that contributed to orders to attack the ship.

The former Naval attach , Castle, said after the panel that he knew personally the Israeli official who had removed the marker and that it had "ruined him" professionally and personally. The Israelis had no motive to attack the ship, he added.

The panel, which was open to the public, became raucous at times when survivors of the Liberty attack and a relative of a sailor killed in the incident yelled out to protest that the panel included two people who represented Israel's position, while survivors were not invited to participate.

One petty officer from the Liberty attempted to question Oren's credentials, saying someone who would have been "in diapers" at the time of the attack could not effectively analyze the incident. Others slammed Oren for being Israeli and suggested he could therefore not be impartial.

I notice that the transcripts are of Israeli rescue pilots. Where in the hell are the transcripts of the fighter pilots that "identified" the ship prior to attack and where are the transcripts of the command to attack the vessel.

That is absolutely false. Go back and read it again. The transcripts are of the radio traffic of the fighter pilots. Notice the emphasis on the PROGRESSIVE change in their perception. They started out absolutely certain that the ship was Egyptian and PROGRESSIVELY changed their perception.

THAT IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE RESCUE PILOTS, which came only LONG AFTER Israel finally realized that the ship was American.

THE OVERWHELMING ISSUE HERE IS THAT there was the risk of DRAWING THE US INTO A THIRD WORLD WAR with the Soviet Union. The most urgent and important issue in this incident was TO AVOID SPARKING A THERMONUCLEAR WAR WITH THE SOVIET UNION. Having a US Warship so close to the battle -- or WAR PLANES TAKING OFF FROM A NULEAR-ARMED CARRIER -- could have been interpreted as the USA joining the war on the side of Israel. This could have resulted in the Soviet Union entering on the side of Israel. Rememer we were in a HOT WAR already in Vietnam at that time.. This could have led to NUCLEAR WAR.

So the most important thing was to avoid sparking a war unintentionally.

That is why the survivors of the USS Liberty should have been COURT-MARTIALED for DISOBEYING ORDERS to withdraw from the region. The orders were transmitted to the aircraft carrier LONG BEFORE the incident, and the aircraft carrier DID retransmit the orders, I don't care what they say. This dereliction of duty placed MILLIONS of Americans at risk of a NUCLEAR WAR.

Most of us here love America.

Uh, no you don't. You may love hearing yourself SAY that. You may love your reputation. But you do not love America, if you spread absolute garbage, that no rational person woudl take seriously, SO AS TO HARM AMERICA AND AMERICA'S STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS, weakening the United States' place in the world and security.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE YOU, THE USA DOES NOT NEED ENEMIES.

I've yet to see any credible reason ... My theory is because the ship was picking up all sorts of traffic and relaying it raw, on open channels, back to US spooks.

AND THEN WHY DID ISRAEL STOP THE ATTACK? The purported goal of the attack WAS NOT ACCOMPLISHED if the ship was not destroyed, along with the information recorded. WHY tick off Israel's ONLY ALLY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, and the only ally Israel could ever expect to have, WITHOUT ACHIEVING THE SUPPOSED OBJECTIVE? Pretty dumb explanation, don't you think?

As the Israeli fighter pilot Spector told the Jerusalem Post, had he only been ARMED WITH A BOMB instead of bullets, the Liberty would have been sunk within the first few minutes. IF ISRAEL WANTED TO DISRUPT INFORMATION TO ITS CLOSEST ALLY IN THE WORLD, they would have sent the airplanes out properly armed with bombs, not with light machine gun bullets. Yet they did not? Why?

According to Body of Secrets, Isreal butched some Eyptians on the sinai because the ISrealis did not have the manpower to handle prisoners. Isreal wanted this hushed up, so she attacked the america spy ship.

Can you see that inside the Sinai Peninsula from a ship 13 miles out in the water??? NO!!!!!

REMEMBER: The Liberty was a SIGNALS LISTENING (eavesdropping) SHIP. It could not see what was happening on the ground.

MEANWHILE, the US already had satellites in orbit -- this was 2 years before the US landed on the mooon ! -- and reconnassiance aircraft THAT WOULD HAVE SEEN what was happening on the ground, and could not be stopped. Again, a pretty stupid explanation, don't you think?

How do you not see a giant American flag? or USS Liberty painted on the side of the ship.

You should get out from your yacht club into the real world every now and then. THE NAME IS NOT PAINTED ON THE SIDE OF WARSHPS. Furthermore, do ou not understand the concept of warships FAKING their identity in the middle of a war?

At the risk of being banned for daring to post anything critical of Israel I am calling Bullsh*t.

Israel was acting in the Sinai on information they could have only gotten from sourced inside the Pentagon. If the Liberty were allowed to get closer they would have confirmed this. The Liberty was attacked to protect Israel's intelligence sources. Israel was acting purely in self interest and for self preservation. Understandable, yes. Forgivable, no.

I don't remember all of the particulars of this attack but, as I recall, it went on for an hour or so.

It's kind of like the Duke rape scandal. A single attack could be excused as a regrettable mistake, but the continued assaults are criminal.

Numerous mistakes were made by both the United States and Israel. For example, the Liberty was first reported — incorrectly, as it turned out — to be cruising at 30 knots (it was later recalculated to be 28 knots). Under Israeli (and U.S.) naval doctrine at the time, a ship proceeding at that speed was presumed to be a warship. The sea was calm and the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry found that the Liberty's flag was very likely drooped and not discernible;

There's no way a flag can "droop" in a 32MPH wind on open water. Most 3x5 heavy cotton bunting will fly fully aloft at 8MPH on a normal landlocked 20ft staff..

Something's just not right with that statement...

We are talking about a US warship that was known to be in the area by the Israelis.

NO IT WAS NOT KNOWN TO BE IN THE AREA! Israel affirmatively asked the US by cable "Do you have any ships in the area?" THE UNITED STATES SAID NO! WE DO NOT HAVE ANY SHIPS IN THE AREA. Please go back and READ the original article.

By the way, I'm not a Jew hater or do I speak constant derision of Israel.

Yes, I am afraid you are, whether you know it or not. The US bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan and British troops in Iraq. Were those intentional or accidental? If you apply a double-standard then YES YOU ARE a Jew hater.

A horse hauler (freighter) cannot do 28 knots..period. No freighter of the time could. I am quite sure that the Israeli reconnaissance airplane that circled the ship about an hour before the attack recognized this was a warship. I know our P-3 crews would. I am positive that the torpedo boat crew knew this also before attacking.

DEAR BIGOT:

The USS LIBERTY WAS A CARGO SHIP, NIT WIT, from World War II, that was converted to reconnaissance use! It was one of those extremely flimsy Victory ships churned out by the hundreds, some of which fell apart form their own defects in rough seas. My grandmother raised funds in Boston to pay for a Liberty ship to be built.

Meanwhile, you falsely pretend that the pilots were viewing two ships side by side. SHAME ON YOU! Not even a bigot can be that dumb! Surely you have looked down from an aircraft window at a boat in the water, and noticed how YOU CANNOT TELL THE SIZE of what you are looking at. Thee is no sense of scale against the water below. No one can be that dumb. You are simply allowing your hatred for America's allies and America's strategic relatoinships in the world to completely twist your thinking.

There's no way a flag can "droop" in a 32MPH wind on open water.

Oh, yes it can! I grew up on boats. A flag can foul, and while whipping back and forth, it is usually NOT visible. But more to the point, when an aircraft is flying past at 300 miles per hour, half a mile above a ship, a flag the size of a football field could not be identified. FURTHERMORE, WHY DO YOU IMAGINE AN EGYPTIAN SHIP COULD NOT BE FLYING AN AMERICAN FLAG FOR DECEPTION? Your arguments are so irrational that only hatred for American and America's strategic relationships could cuase you to make them.

But, finally, we have the radio traffic among the fighter pilots, intercepted by US spy planes in the area. WE KNOW the pilots' did not see any American flag. THE US HAS ITS OWN COPIES of the radio conversations, intercepted by US spy planes. You can SPECULATE all day long, but we know for a FACT that the pilots did not see any flag.

Tel Aviv told Washington to get the ship out, but where is the record of Washington telling the ship to get out?

The US battle group (aircraft carrier flagship) received the order for ALL US ships -- ALL OF THEM, not any one by name, EVERYONE GET OUT -- to withdraw from the area by at least 400 miles. (The 100 mentioned here is incorrect.)

The orders for ALL warships to get out of the battle zone were received by the battle group LONG, LONG before the incident. The orders were re-transmitted to the USS Liberty. However, THE LIBERTY WAS A SIGNALS LISTENNG SHIP, FOR GOD'S SAKE! IT WAS AN NSA EAVESDROPPING SHIP! It was there listening in to radio communications and signals traffic!

Oh My God, how stupid are we going to be to pursue an anti-American agenda of hate?

The USS Liberty had the capabiility to receive orders WITHOUT waiting for those orders to be re-transmitted.

And yet the USS Liberty claims that it never heard the orders to withdraw from the battle zone. IT WAS AN NSA EAVESDROPPING SHIP!!!! It's whole reason for existing was its ability to receive radio signals! And they did not pick up the order to leave the battle zone???? YEAH, RIGHT!

The bottom line is that this was gross incompetence on the part of the radio operator on the USS Liberty or foolish bravado on the part of the Captain, thinking that he could win some glory by staying in a battle zone.

At the risk of being banned for daring to post anything critical of Israel I am calling Bullsh*t. Israel was acting in the Sinai on information they could have only gotten from sourced inside the Pentagon. If the Liberty were allowed to get closer they would have confirmed this. The Liberty was attacked to protect Israel's intelligence sources. Israel was acting purely in self interest and for self preservation. Understandable, yes. Forgivable, no.

AGAIN, YOU GUYS DON'T SEEM TO CARE ABOUT FACTS. The Liberty was a SIGNALS LISTENING SHIP. It could not see anything on the ground in the Sinai FROM SEA LEVEL, 13 miles out from the edge of the coast line. Meanwhile, this was 2 years before the US landed on the moon. We had satellites watching the battle. We had high-flying U2 / Blackbird spy planes watching the battle zone. Attacking the USS Liberty would accomplish nothing along the lines of what you suggest.

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