LINK 52nd Anniversary of Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty
"Two days ago, the US celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-Day with accolades to the armed forces and thanks to surviving veterans. The country stood strongly with the military. But today two days later is the 52 anniversary of a day of shame when Washington turned its back on the US Navy. It was June 8, 1967 when the USS Liberty, a surveillance ship stationed off the coast of Egypt, was attacked by Israeli fighter aircraft and torpedo boats. The Israelis were unable to sink the Liberty, but managed to kill 34 American sailors and wound 174. Seventy percent of the crew were casualties of the Israeli attack.
The White House, fearing the Israel Lobby, prevented the US Navy from going to the defense of the Liberty, thus sacrificing American lives, and further dishonored the US Navy by ordering Admiral McCain, father of the former US Senator John McCain, to orchestrate a cover-up. The surviving crew were threatened with court-martial and imprisonment if they spoke about the event. It was 20 years before one of the surviving officers wrote a book about the greatest act of shame the US government ever inflicted on the US military."
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.From: [consortiumnews.com]
"Terry Halbardier, who as a 23-year old seaman in 1967 thwarted Israeli attempts to sink the USS Liberty, died on Aug. 11 in Visalia, California. It took the U.S. government 42 years after the attack to recognize Halbardier’s heroism by awarding him the Silver Star, a delay explained by Washington’s determination to downplay Israeli responsibility for the 34 Americans killed and the 174 wounded.
On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, the Israeli military attacked the USS Liberty, an American spy ship which had been monitoring Israeli transmissions about the conflict. Intercepted Israeli communications indicated that the goal was to sink the Liberty and leave no survivors."
Source:
WilliamCharles
Level 8
June 9, 2019
1
From: [ifamericaknew.org]
"Moreover, the Liberty crew certainly qualifies as one of the most highly decorated for a single ship action. With one Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses and 36 Silver or Bronze Stars for little over a one-hour action, few crews have been so courageous.
As Vice Adm. William I. Martin, commander of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, said in July 1967, “I commend to every man who sails in the Sixth Fleet the fact that the USS Liberty has become a legend in her own times."
WilliamCharles
Level 8
June 8, 2019
1
I just watched this documentary on the USS Liberty and it's very detailed. I was stationed on Crete 85-86 and you hear stories of past instances but I never heard anything on the Liberty. You can see Robert McNamara lying in the documentary. I was unaware of our dispatching of nuclear capable aircraft to bomb Cairo. It is a shame that this isn't talked about more.
Darthpug
Level 7
June 8, 2019
2
From: [counterpunch.org]
"More proof came to light from the Israeli side. A few years after Attack on the Liberty was originally published, Ennes got a call from Evan Toni, an Israeli pilot. Toni told Ennes that he had just read his book and wanted to tell him his story. Toni said that he was the pilot in the first Israeli Mirage fighter to reach the Liberty. He immediately recognized the ship to be a US Navy vessel. He radioed Israeli air command with this information and asked for instructions. Toni said he was ordered to “attack.” He refused and flew back to the air base at Ashdod. When he arrived he was summarily arrested for disobeying orders."
WilliamCharles
Level 8
June 8, 2019
2
Hell of a thing. I wonder if someday there will be documentation discovered shedding more light on it.
Druvius
Level 8
June 8, 2019
1
If only. The details that are known are pretty shameful.
I find it telling that there is virtually no MSM coverage of the anniversary.
@WilliamCharles
well of course not, criticising Israel in any way shape or form is an act of anti-semitism especially when the allegations are true and the criticisms are justified.
Before anyone yells anti-semite at me I am of Jewish heritage on my father's side.
I've gotten that a lot in my critiques of Israel. Quoting anti-Zionist Jewish sources often has them dismissed as self-hating Jews. All my Facebook bans have been for factual criticism of Israel that gets flagged as hate speech.
I made an online friendship with a Liberty survivor, Jim Ennes, who wrote the book "Assault on the Liberty."
He spoke of the smears against him and the crew for wanting the truth to come out.
From the USS Liberty webpage: [gtr5.com]
"Anti-Semitism and the Anti-American Apologists
The USS Liberty Memorial web site abhors the racist and extreme positions taken by antiSemitic, Holocaust denial, conspiracy theorist and other such groups which often seek to identify with us and to usurp our story as their own. We have no connection with and do not support or encourage support from any of these groups including National Alliance, National Vanguard, The New Order, National Socialists, The French Connection, Liberty Lobby, American Free Press, Republic Broadcasting, USS Liberty Radio Hour, Storm Front or other such groups. We wish harm to no one and encourage social justice and equality for everyone; we seek only accountability for the criminal acts perpetrated against us and can do that without help from hate-mongers.
On the Israeli side, the group of pro-Israel, anti-American critics of our story, while small, persists in launching loud, vicious ad hominem attacks on anyone who attempts to discuss the deliberateness of the attack. These anti-American apologists refuse to discuss the facts of the case. Instead, they rely on propaganda and charge anyone who questions the Israeli position with being antiSemitic.
For detailed and authoritative accounts of the power and influence of the pro-Israel lobby, please see The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by Mearsheimer and Walt and The Pro-Israel Lobby by Edward Herman."
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