Remembering the Israeli Attack Against the USS Liberty Fifty-Eight Years Later

Few Americans are aware that our “greatest ally” deliberately attempted to sink one of our electronic intelligence-gathering ships and kill our people on June 8, 1967 (off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula), and the ardent defenders of Israel who are aware of what happened simply shrug the event off as a case of mistaken identity. Of course, survivors of the USS Liberty incident argue that the Israeli military knew very well what it was targeting, as the ship was well-marked as an American vessel and posed no threat, so at the end of the day, you can choose to either believe American veterans or the Israeli government, which is in turn supported by the United States government.

One survivor of the incident, David Lewis, was explicit in saying that an American flag was clearly flying on the ship, and when the Israeli military started bombarding the vessel, the American troops put up an even larger flag to show their attackers that they were friendly. Yet, the Israeli military kept firing regardless, and there really is no excuse, especially being that Israel has one of the most sophisticated intelligence forces on the planet. There is no mistaking that Israel knew exactly what it was doing, and despite claims that Israel thought that the ship was Egyptian (the vessel was said to have had the appearance of the Egyptian El Quseir), incompetence just does not work here (how many Egyptian ships fly an American flag for the fun of it?).

Additionally, evidence suggests that Israel’s Central Coastal Command kept the threat level from the USS Liberty as “red” for a while after Israeli intelligence identified the ship as American, and even when the threat level changed to “green” (showing that the ship was neutral and not an enemy combatant), the Israeli military disregarded it and launched torpedoes and napalm at it. Being under the pressure of war and being threatened by Syrian and Egyptian vessels may have caused the Israeli military to be on alert and nervous, but attacking a nearly-unarmed ship (armed with only a few .50-caliber machine guns) that was visibly identified as American and had been cleared as a non-threat is an aggressive act of violence. Some reports suggest that the Israeli fighter jets opened fire before they received confirmation that it was an American ship (if this is true, why did command not relay the information to the attackers quicker and instead let the ship be fired upon?), and during the incident, some American gunners reportedly fired back against Israeli torpedo boats. However, even under this scenario, the torpedo boats continued to engage the ship after communication had been relayed that it was of American origin (the commander of the torpedo boats either defied the order from Israeli Naval Operations because of some directions from another part of the Israeli government, or he went rogue and ignored the deputy commander of the fleet, who later testified that he clearly told him what the INO had instructed).

It was revealed in a signed affidavit by Navy Captain Ward Boston that the Lyndon Johnson administration pre-ordered the Navy to “conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary” (forming a conclusion before the investigation started). As a result, instead of placing blame on Israel or attempting to explain the motive, the Navy investigation simply suggested that there was not enough information to draw a conclusion. In the end, President Johnson took Israel’s bribe money of $6.9 million and swept the incident under the rug, even placing a gag order on veterans who had survived the incident, and Americans went back to praising the Jewish state and pretending that it was the godly nation that it claimed to be (and Johnson did not have to worry about potentially losing Jewish voters). The National Security Agency (NSA) went through great lengths to keep all details of the incident hidden from the public for years, and the fact that the United States government did not want Americans to see the full picture of what transpired is a clear indication that foul play was at work.

Larry L. Bowen, a veteran who survived the incident and helped start the USS Liberty Veterans Association, has been forthright about his views that the United States government covered up the attack and knew that the Israeli military intentionally tried to sink an American ship for two hours straight, even firing at the lifeboats as they attempted to escape (a violation of international law and a vile deed, especially with the Israeli military having already identified the ship as American). It is very difficult to conclude anything other than the concept that Israel deliberately attempted to murder Americans.

Why would the Israeli military, which was engaged in the Six-Day War, move aircraft and torpedo boats to international waters and launch an attack against the ship? Why would Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara recall the twelve fighter jets and four tanker planes dispatched from the USS Saratoga to defend and rescue personnel from the Liberty and let the ship suffer a defeat at the hands of the Israeli military? As long as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Benjamin Netanyahu regime have a tight grip on American politicians and bureaucrats, we may never completely know the truth about the Israeli slaughter of thirty-four Americans (plus, 171 or 174 were wounded, depending on the source). However, we can piece together the information to get a few possibilities as to the motives.

One of the most commonly-held reasons for the attack stems from the fact that though the USS Liberty was gathering intelligence on Israel’s Arab enemies (particularly Egypt and Syria), which were also allies of the Soviet Union, the United States government refused to participate directly as a belligerent in the Six-Day War on Israel’s side. A false flag attack against the United States where the perpetrator would be falsely blamed on Egypt would force the United States to leave its neutral status and start bombarding Israel’s enemies, thus securing victory much quicker (without regard for potentially having dragged the United States into a hot war with the Soviet Union). However, some argue that Israel was already on the verge of winning the war and that the United States joining in might not have altered the results much. Other theories postulate that Israel was afraid that American intelligence would be shared with Egypt (this would be weak reasoning on the part of the Israelis, being that Egypt was a Soviet ally), that the United States was being bullied to keep evidence of Israeli atrocities a secret (including a potential massacre of Egyptian prisoners of war in El Arish in the Sinai Peninsula), and that this was a distraction from Israel’s seizure of part of Syria’s Golan Heights region (this invasion occurred the next day, and Israel has still refused to give the territory back).

As we recall this tragic incident fifty-eight years later, the United States government is still covering up and defending Israel for atrocities committed throughout the Middle East. Even as President Donald Trump made deals with Arab nations and left the Benjamin Netanyahu regime out in the cold, American politicians are still being bought and monitored by AIPAC and pressured to authorize funding and weapons to Israel. President Trump may be upset about how the Israeli government is engaging in its slaughter of Gazans, but will this be enough for him to cut off ties and leave the Israeli government to face the consequences of its years’ worth of evil deeds? Or, will the Trump administration go back to its Israeli masters and bow at the feet of Netanyahu once again? Will the Israeli government commit another false flag attack against the United States in order to push the American military to eliminate its most powerful enemy, Iran? Time will tell, but Americans should at the very least demand answers and accountability for the Israeli government slaughtering American military members.

Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.