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October 24, 2003, WASHINGTON DC: A new report released on
Capitol Hill today by former officials from the highest level of
the American military and government reveals that Israel
"committed acts of murder against American serviceman and an act
of war against the United States" when it deliberately attacked
the American Navy Ship USS Liberty in 1967, killing 34 and
wounding 172 American crewmembers. Israel had alleged that the
two-hour attack with napalm, missiles, and torpedoes was a
mistake.
"The release of the Independent Commission of Inquiry's findings
is a major step in debunking the myth that Israel is a friend to
the United States and the American people," said Alison Weir,
Executive Director of If Americans Knew, an organization
dedicated to providing information on issues misreported in the
American media.
"The fact that this Independent Commission of Inquiry was made
up of prestigious American leaders will encourage the largely
misinformed American public to take a closer look at the
relationship between Washington and Israel. It is likely that
once they examine this 'friendship,' Americans will demand a
change in their government's policies, which empower the brutal
oppression of the Palestinians," Weir said.
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Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and four-star
Admiral Thomas Moorer is outraged at the cover-up of the attack
and the fact that this is the only attack on a US ship that has
never been investigated by Congress.
"Why would our government put Israel's interests ahead of our
own?" Moorer asked. "Does it continue to do so? This is an
important issue that should be investigated by an independent,
fully empowered commission of the American government. Our own
Independent Commission of Inquiry findings have grave
implications for our national security and for the American
people. In order to confront this problem, the American people
and our elected officers will need to overcome their fear of the
pro-Israel lobby in the United States."
Members of the Independent Commission of Inquiry have now been
joined by the Chief Attorney in the Navy's original 1967 Court
of Inquiry into the case. After remaining silent for more than
three decades, Captain Ward Boston describes in a sworn
affidavit how he and many others were ordered to never speak
about the attack on the USS Liberty.
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"I know from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd
[president of the Court of Inquiry] that President Lyndon
Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to
conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity'
despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary," states the
affidavit.
Captain Boston said he felt compelled to "share the truth"
because of "recent attempts to rewrite history."
"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... Contrary to
the misinformation presented by Cristol and others, it is
important for the American people to know that it is clear that
Israel is responsible for deliberately attacking an American
ship and murdering American sailors," the affidavit continues.
In addition, Boston said he is motivated by his opposition to
Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. In an interview, he
spoke of the sorrow he feels for the Palestinian people and
expressed disgust at Israel's policy of targeting children.
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"It is terrible what is being done to those [Palestinian]
children." <end>
Reprinted with Permission:
Copyright © 2003 Counter Punch
Added 01/12/2004:
Motive is
still unknown as was established at the January 12, 2004
Conference on the 1967 Israeli/Arab Six Day War. Many issues
surrounding this tragedy will only be brought to the surface
with a formal US investigation. This formal
investigation to date has never occurred as the investigating
lawyer for the US government Captain Ward Boston states in his
January 10,
2004 affidavit.
Also see
Betrayal behind Israeli attack on U.S. ship By ADM. THOMAS
MOORER, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to
1974 Houston Chronicle | Jan. 9, 2004
TAKE the "LIBERTY" NOT
TO FORGET" By Major
Van Harl USAF Ret.
Sarah
Weir is Projects Director
If Americans Knew.
The mission of If Americans Knew is to inform and
educate the American public on issues of major significance that
are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American
media. It is our belief that when Americans know the facts on a
subject, they will, in the final analysis, act in accordance
with morality, justice, and the best interests of their nation,
and of the world. With insufficient information, or distorted
information, they may do the precise opposite.
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Veterans
For
Peace position
on
the
USS Liberty
RESOLUTION REGARDING THE JUNE 1967 ATTACK
ON THE USS LIBERTY
WHEREAS, for democracy to work in determining governmental
actions in a democratic society, all citizens need prompt
accurate access to information relevant to policies and
actions of their government, and
WHEREAS, in times of national attack and security threats in
our country, temporary withholding of information is often
necessary to protect lives and communities, and
WHEREAS, in order for a society to learn from history
citizens need to have full access to all information
available about incidents that occur (sinking of the Maine,
Tonkin Gulf attack, My Lai), and
WHEREAS, the attack on an unarmed United States naval vessel
U.S.S. Liberty on June 8, 1967, has never received full or
honest disclosure and Naval personnel who served on the
U.S.S. liberty on June 8, 1967 have been threatened with
severe punishment if they described their experiences of
this attack which resulted in the death of 34 U.S.
servicemen and the wounding of 172 sailors, and
WHEREAS, the Liberty’s Captain and the members of the crew
all stated they believe the Israelis planned to leave no
survivors to describe the attack, and
WHEREAS, the U.S.S. Liberty is the most decorated ship in
the history of the US Navy: The Medal of Honor for the
Skipper, Captain William McGonagle; two Navy Crosses; 11
Silver Stars; 23 Bronze Stars; 206 Purple Hearts, and the
Presidential unit Citation,
THEREFORE, be it Resolved that the United States Congress
initiates an in depth, full and honest investigation into
the events of that day, June 8, 1967, in relation to the
attack on the U.S.S. Liberty.
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Why Hasn't
There Been a Formal Investigation?
The House, Senate and each President
since the attack have been heavily lobbied by Israel to
NOT do a full investigation of the USS Liberty attack.
Those whom have asked or pursued the objective have
endured accusations of anti-Semitism and seen major
support withdrawn from campaign funds. In nearly all
instances where a congressman or senator has questioned
Israeli influence on US policy, this representative is
voted out of office the next term.
Thirty-seven years later, these
threats continue and many congressmen and senators whom
normally would stand up for US interests first, remain
quiet. The USS Liberty remains the only attack on a US
ship that has never received a full investigation and
this has been the only wish of the survivors. It
is also in the best interests of the United States to
investigate this. The sailors of the USS Liberty
and the American people deserve to know what happened.
If you believe the US congress and
senate should begin to put American interests before any
other country's interests, please write or call your
congressmen and senators and demand a full investigation
into the USS Liberty attack of June 8th, 1967. The
Israeli lobby is the most powerful lobby in Washington
both in terms of money and influence. Our
congressmen and senators will not go against this
lobby's wishes unless they know the American people are
behind them. The personal price to each for
questioning Israeli policy is too high without our
support. It's time the American people let our
representatives know they need to put America first and
we will support those whom do this. Investigating
the USS Liberty attack is an excellent place to start.
If it was an accident as Israel claims, it is logical to
think they would want and demand an investigation.
An investigation would exonerate them and put the entire
issue to rest. Rather, their lobbing energies have
gone into squashing a formal investigation. Why?
The American people deserve an answer to this and we
need to protect our representatives so an answer can
come.
Please give the survivors of the USS
Liberty their only wish. Write your
representatives today and ask for a formal
investigation. We owe it to the sailors and we owe
it to ourselves to finally know what really happened.
Let us put America first, finally and for a change!
Write your representative today.
TOP
USS Liberty in
our Story, "Remembering
Our Fallen Heroes"
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CC Editor's Note:
On October 2, 2003
If Americans
Knew, the authors of the first portion of this feature, received a telephone
Death Threat after debating on "How Can Peace Be Achieved
Between Israelis and Palestinians?" This is a
common tactic used to intimidate and discredit reporters,
politicians and peace activists working toward a peaceful
solution to the illegal Occupation of the Palestinian
territories in the Middle East, and one of the major reasons US
media is so censored on issues dealing with the Middle East.
These hate groups
post threats with
impunity on the web.
What is amazing
about this threat and the hundreds of others on this hate
group's site is this is a legal/rights organization and a
protected non-profit openly threatening American citizens and
our politicians as it hides behind a religious inference.
In
America, no journalist, politician or activist should ever be
subjected to this type of terror, even when one disagrees with
the point of view. The reason hate groups like this one
are able to continue to terrorize Americans is because the
American people don't realize it is happening. If we
are to end the terror, we must also deal with groups like the
one cited posting these death threats and other groups
threatening reporters, politicians and peace activists.
We'll never get the truth if our leaders and journalists are too
afraid to act and right now, most are. These hate groups must be
dealt with the same veracity, consideration and
consequences as those living half a world away, regardless of
their name or the image they hide behind. It is up to us
as Americans to make sure this happens and not allow this type
of threat to continue unnoticed, unchallenged or unpunished.
Where You can Learn More
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USS Liberty Dead in the Water
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Considered the best and most powerful of all the
programming available on the USS Liberty, this gripping
and award winning documentary by the BBC and RS
Thompson, a survivor interviews those involved.
This is one documentary the US Media is too afraid to
show due to the Israeli Lobby's influence, but is a must
see for an every American interested in hearing from the
crew and those involved what really happened that
fateful day in June 1967.
VHS & DVD
$29.95 & $37.00
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Assault on the Liberty
by Survivor,
James
M. Ennes Jr.
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Illustrating the story the government does-n't want the
public to hear, Ennes' book based upon his and his
shipmate's first hand account and well researched
documentation of unprovoked attack and decades of
cover-up will both open your eyes and keep you
riveted.
Read Excerpt |
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They Dare to Speak Out:
People and Institutions Confront Israel's
Lobby
by Paul Findley
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Body of Secrets :
Anatomy of the
Ultra-Secret National Security Agency
by James Bamford
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In Body
of Secrets, Bamford throws much more light on his
subject--and he reveals loads of shocking information.
The story of the U-2 crisis in 1960 is well known,
including President Eisen-hower's decision to tell a fib
to the public in order to protect a national security
secret. Bamford takes the story a disturbing step
forward, showing how Eisenhower "went so far as to order
his Cabinet officers to hide his involvement in the
scandal even while under oath.
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