A MUST -- Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty: A Half Century Later, Still No Justice

Israel Completely Owns America — We Are A Subject People

June 9, 2018 

Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty: A Half Century Later, Still No Justice

Posted By Jeffrey St. Clair On June 8, 2018 @ 1:56 am on CounterPunch

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/06/08/israels-attack-on-the-uss-liberty-a-half-century-later-still-no-justice/

Free PDF

http://www.lander.odessa.ua/doc/Ennes_James_M_Jr_-_Assault_on_the_Liberty.pdf

In early June of 1967, at the onset of the Six Day War, the Pentagon sent the USS Liberty from Spain into international waters off the coast of Gaza to monitor the progress of Israel’s attack on the Arab states. The Liberty was a lightly armed surveillance ship.

Only hours after the Liberty arrived it was spotted by the Israeli military. The IDF sent out reconnaissance planes to identify the ship. They made eight trips over a period of three hours. The Liberty was flying a large US flag and was easily recognizable as an American vessel.

Soon more planes came. These were Israeli Mirage III fighters, armed with rockets and machine guns. As off-duty officers sunbathed on the deck, the fighters opened fire on the defenseless ship with rockets and machine guns.

A few minutes later a second wave of planes streaked overhead, French-built Mystere jets, which not only pelted the ship with gunfire but also with napalm bomblets, coating the deck with the flaming jelly. By now, the Liberty was on fire and dozens were wounded and killed, excluding several of the ship’s top officers.

The Liberty’s radio team tried to issue a distress call, but discovered the frequencies had been jammed by the Israeli planes with what one communications specialist called “a buzzsaw sound.” Finally, an open channel was found and the Liberty got out a message it was under attack to the USS America, the Sixth Fleet’s large aircraft carrier.

Two F-4s left the carrier to come to the Liberty’s aid. Apparently, the jets were armed only with nuclear weapons. [The F-4s were certainly not armed with nuclear weapons, much less only nuclear weapons. This was the excuse used to justify Washington calling back the US Navy jets sent by the fleet commander to the USS Liberty’s rescue. The claim is an obvious lie for two reasons. One is that no fleet commander is going to send aircraft that are not armed to engage other aircraft to protect a ship under attack. The other is that arming aircraft with nuclear weapons is a very controlled event. It is not something that a fleet commander is permitted to do on his own.]

When word reached the Pentagon [that jets had been sent to the Liberty’s defense], Defense Secretary Robert McNamara became irate and ordered the jets to return. “Tell the Sixth Fleet to get those aircraft back immediately,” he barked. McNamara’s injunction was reiterated in saltier terms by Admiral David L. McDonald, the chief of Naval Operations: “You get those fucking airplanes back on deck, and you get them back down.” The planes turned around. And the attack on the Liberty continued.