USS Liberty incident

[[File:Damage to USS Liberty, June 1967.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Damage to the ''USS Liberty'']]
{{war}}
{{Conspiracy}}
The '''USS ''Liberty'' incident''' occurred on June 8th, 1967, during the {{wpl|Six-Day War||,}} when [[Israel]]'s navy and air force attacked the [[United States]] signal intelligence gathering vessel USS ''Liberty'', killing 34, wounding 171, and severely damaging the ship.<ref>https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/liberty1.html</ref> Controversy remains whether the attack was a deliberate effort to disable a neutral 
spy ship
 "technical research" ship in international waters, or an unfortunate case of mistaken identity in the fog of war.<ref>http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/148-washington-report-archives-1988-1993/june-1993/7211-the-assault-on-the-uss-liberty-still-covered-up-after-26-years.html</ref> 

==The diplomacy==
Since the US and Israel were nominal allies in the [[cold war]], both parties had motives for glossing over the incident as an unfortunate accident, possibly a result of miscommunication in the midst of a hot war with numerous rapidly shifting threats. For example, the day before the attack on the ''Liberty'', Israeli aircraft bombed one of their own armored columns south of the West Bank town of Jenin.<ref>''The Attack on the Liberty'' Hirsh Goodman and Ze'ev Schiff, ''The Atlantic Monthly'' September 1984</ref> In that context, subsequent inquiries have suffered from what may be politely called a systemic bias. From the Israeli perspective, a proper investigation would've revealed either rank incompetence or a deliberate attack on an ally, while for the Americans, the investigation would've required them to reveal just what the ''Liberty'' was doing in that region.

The event, or rather its alleged investigation, has been regularly contrasted with the first-hand accounts of eyewitnesses. Occasionally, [[cognitive dissonance]] arises when additional testimony becomes declassified<ref>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-liberty_tuesoct02,0,3138117.story</ref> which does not conform to the official "accident" narrative.

==Why won't everyone shut up and buy the official version?==
Those insisting that Israel did not know they were attacking an American ship focus on a lack of apparent motive.<ref>Aaronovitch, David, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History, Riverhead Trade, 2011, ISBN-10: 1594484988</ref>  One credible narrative is a [[cover-up]] of a POW massacre by the Israelis at El-Arish.<ref>Bamford, James, Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency, Doubleday, 2002, ISBN-10: 0385499086</ref>  Another explanation is that the Israelis simply did not want a sea-going antenna farm cruising where it could hear their aircraft dispatchers. In any event, a better question is: after the fact, whose interest would be served by an ugly truth when a pretty lie could be reported? 

Additionally, proponents of the cover up theory say that the awarding of the ships Captain, then Commander William McGonagle, lends credence to the cover up. In a highly unusual ceremony, Capt McGonagle was awarded his Medal of Honor by the Secretary of the Navy, not the President, and at the Washington Naval Yard, not the White House. His citation is also unusual in that it does not name the nation that attacked the ship. <ref>https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/william-l-mcgonagle</ref>

That said, when [[Wingnut|some people]] claim the [[tinfoil hat]]s are being worn by Secretary of State Dean Rusk . . .
{{Cquote|I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous.<ref>Dean Rusk. As I Saw It. New York: W.W. Norton, 1990. ISBN 0-14-015391-8 page 388</ref>}}
. . . and Captain Ward Boston, JAGC, U.S. Navy, senior counsel for the Court of Inquiry . . .
{{Cquote|The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew. Each evening, after hearing testimony all day, we often spoke our private thoughts concerning what we had seen and heard. I recall Admiral Kidd repeatedly referring to the Israeli forces responsible for the attack as 'murderous bastards.' It was our shared belief, based on the documentary evidence and testimony we received first hand, that the Israeli attack was planned and deliberate, and could not possibly have been an accident.<ref>http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/259-washington-report-archives-2000-2005/march-2004/5018-declaration-of-ward-boston-jr-captain-jagc-usn-ret.html</ref>}}
. . . one might begin to wonder.

==See also==
*[[Spanish-American War]] - Another maritime incident, this one was an accident blown out of proportion to justify a war instead of getting swept under the rug.

==Bibliography==
* Ennes, James M. Jr. ''Assault On The Liberty: The True Story of the Israeli Attack on an American Intelligence Ship''. Random House, 1979. ISBN 0-9723116-0-2

==External links==
{{collapse|Various sources}}
===U.S. government sites===
*[http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/LIBERTY%20ATTACK%20PT%203.pdf Itemised cost of repairs to the USS Liberty] United States Department of the Navy September 1967
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/agtr5.htm Naval Historical Center], featuring photographs of the ship and crew, and the aftermath of the attack.
*[http://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/memorial_wall/index.shtml National Security Agency's Memorial Wall], including list of names inscribed on the wall.
*[http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/jagman_investigations.htm U.S. Navy JAG Corps investigations library] contains links to record of proceedings for high-profile investigations, including the USS ''Liberty''.
*[http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/USS_Liberty_Pueblo_Stark/173.pdf Report of the JCS Fact-Finding Team; USS ''Liberty'' Incident/ 8 June 1967]

====Declassified State Department====
*[http://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1964-68v19/ebook/frus1964-68v19.epub ARAB-ISRAELI CRISIS AND WAR, 1967], Foreign Relations Series
*Correspondence
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/state_dept_correspondence/preliminary_inquiry.pdf Preliminary Inquiry on the ''Liberty'' Case, 15 August 1967]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/state_dept_correspondence/torpedoing_uss_liberty.pdf Torpedoing of USS ''Liberty'', 8 June 1967]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/state_dept_correspondence/arab_israel_report_1200.pdf Arab-Israel Situation Report, 1200, 8 June 1967]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/state_dept_correspondence/arab_israel_report_1800.pdf Arab-Israel Situation Report, 1800, 8 June 1967]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/state_dept_correspondence/inr_comments.pdf INR Comments on the USS ''Liberty'' Incident, 8, 13 June June 1967]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/state_dept_correspondence/arab_israel_report_1100.pdf Arab-Israel Situation Report, 1100, 8 June 1967, 8 June 1967]

====Declassified National Security Agency====
*Chronologies
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/chronology_events.pdf USS ''Liberty'' (USN-855) (AGTR-5) Chronology of Events, 8 June 1967]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/attack_sigint.pdf U.S.Cryptologic History Report, "Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the U.S.S. Liberty", dated 1981 (originally released in 1999)]
*Follow-Up Reports
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/followup_report_1.pdf Report 1, dated 9 June 1967, 0831Z ]
**[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/followup_report_2.pdf Report 2, dated 9 June 1967, 1422Z]
*National Military Command Center Documents
#[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/nmccd_docs/uss_liberty_struck.pdf The USS ''LIBERTY'' (AGTR-5) Struck by Torpedo, 8 June 1967]
#[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/nmccd_docs/attack_on_uss_liberty_v1.pdf Attack on USS ''LIBERTY'' (AGTR-5), 9 June 1967]
#[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/nmccd_docs/status_uss_liberty.pdf Status of USS ''LIBERTY'' (AGTR-5), 10 June 1967]
#[http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/uss_liberty/nmccd_docs/attack_uss_liberty_v1.pdf Attack on USS ''LIBERTY'' (AGTR-5), 10 June 1967]

===Sources (totally unbiased, and without agenda, we pinky swear) saying attack was a mistake===
*[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/356866391.html?dids=356866391:356866391&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+10%2C+2003&author=JANINE+ZACHARIA&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=05&desc=US+tapes+confirm+Israel%27s+%2767+attack+on+%27Liberty%27+was++accidental US tapes confirm Israel's '67 attack on 'Liberty' was accidental] (Jerusalem Post)
*[http://www.thelibertyincident.com/documents.html The ''Liberty'' Incident], by {{wpl|A. Jay Cristol||,}} a federal judge from [[Florida]] whose CV includes being a naval aviator near the Korean peninsula near the end of that war, flying training missions
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/liberty1.html The USS ''Liberty'': Case Closed] [http://www.azure.org.il/ Azure] article by Michael Oren ("Azure enabled thinkers from around the world and across the ideological spectrum to exchange ideas and information, and to shape a common—Jewish and Zionist—agenda.")
* Michael Oren's "Six Days of War." Ballantine Books, 2003, p.&nbsp;263–271
*[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=315949&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y Memos show ''Liberty'' attack was an error] ''Haaretz'' article by Nathan Guttman
*[http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/critiques/Return_of_the_USS_Liberty.asp Return of the USS ''Liberty''] Critique of Bamford's "Body of Secrets" from Honest Reporting ("Defending Israel From Media Bias")
*[http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=23&x_article=181 Bamford Bashes Israel: Conspiracy Theorist Claims Attack on USS ''Liberty'' Intentional] from the {{wpl|Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America}} (or CAMERA, "known for its pro-Israel media monitoring and advocacy")
*[http://www.adl.org/Israel/uss.asp The USS ''Liberty'' Attack] from the [[Anti-Defamation League]]
*[http://hnn.us/articles/369.html USS ''Liberty'': Israel Did Not Intend to Bomb the Ship] by A. Jay Cristol
*[http://www.sixdaywar.org/uss-liberty.asp USS ''Liberty''] on www.sixdaywar.org (a CAMERA site)
*[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/524753111.html?dids=524753111:524753111&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+13%2C+2004&author=JANINE+ZACHARIA&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=01&desc=USS+%27Liberty%27+hit+was+unintentional%2C+says+CIA USS 'Liberty' hit was unintentional, says CIA] (Jerusalem Post)
*[http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/07/09/uss.liberty.tapes/index.html USS ''Liberty'' attack tapes released] by David Ensor, [[CNN]] (What? From that link: "The order suggests the Israelis were surprised at word of a U.S. flag, but it also runs counter to what Israeli fighter pilots and torpedo boat crews have always insisted: That they could not see an American flag.")
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==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Middle East]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Middle East