Today marks the anniversary of the Israeli attack on the US intelligence collection ship Liberty during the June War of 1967. The following is based on articles by Ray McGovern on the Antiwar.com website and The Norfolk Crime Examiner. At 2pm on that day, the Liberty was subjected to an Israeli air attack with missiles, bombs and napalm; it was also struck by a torpedo from an Israeli military boat. The attack only ended after 34 US sailors were killed and another 172 wounded. I don't think that many Arabs, or any Arabs, have heard of the name of the sailor Terry Halbardier. He was 23 years old in 1967, and on the deck of the ship. The Israelis started by destroying the communications antennas to prevent the ship from asking for help. However, an unused, emergency antenna remained, and the young seaman relied on his expertise to connect it to the ship's equipment. A naval distress signal was eventually sent out. Halbardier recently received the Silver Star in a ceremony headed by Congressmen Devin Nunes. Three years ago, he received the Purple Heart; the two are the highest US military awards for bravery. However, all of the medals in the world will not erase the story of the betrayal by the US political establishment, with the connivance of the military leadership, of American soldiers, followed by the system's failure to hold the officials accountable. When the Sixth Fleet received the Liberty's “mayday,” it sent F-4s to rescue it. However, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara ordered the airplanes to return twice. Admiral William Geis was surprised by the move and called the Pentagon to find out what was taking place. US President Lyndon Johnson got personally involved and ordered the return of the planes. Israel still insists to this date that the attack was a mistake in identifying the ship. However, there is decisive evidence against this claim. Alison Weir, who has written about the topic, has obtained from US diplomatic and military sources a recording of the Israeli pilots with their command. The pilot says: “This is an American ship. Do you still want us to attack?” The answer: “Yes, follow orders.” The pilot resumes: “But sir, it's an American ship – I can see the flag!” The response: "Never mind; hit it!” Many people heard the recording, which was destroyed with the collusion of the US military and political leadership, acting against American soldiers. Congress has also been complicit, both at the time and until the present. In 2003, it appointed a high-level committee of US military and diplomatic figures to investigate the attack. It sent its report to Congress and asked for an investigation into a certain crime. But no investigation has taken place, so that Israel is not found guilty. A member of the committee, Thomas Moorer, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, complained about Congress' failure to investigate the response of US aircrafts, which tried to save the Liberty. An important question remains: why did the Israelis try to sink the ship? There are many answers to this, although I favor the following. In 1982, Menachem Begin said: “In June 1967, we had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that [Egyptian President] Nasser was really about to attack us. we must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.” Thus, the goal of the attack was to prevent a US spy ship from proving that Israel began the war, without the danger of an attack against it. Additionally, Israeli forces killed Egyptian prisoners of war at El-Arish, and the Israeli government knew that the ship could record and photograph all of the contacts between the leadership and the soldiers and orders to kill; it is another war crime for which Israel has not been held accountable. How did all of this happen? Readers may check an article of mine from 9 March 2009, in which I talked about Lyndon Johnson and his Jewish lover, Mathilde Krim, who was at the White House in June with the knowledge of her husband, Arthur. Johnson knocked on the door of Room 303 and she came out in her nightgown. He told her that the war had begun. With Johnson, the absolute bias toward Israel began. Krim resembles the courtesans who play roles similar to those in the historical fables about the entry of Palestine. I hear Barack Obama talking and I believe him; I pity him because of a regime that kills its own while he advocates freedom and democracy. http://www.j-khazen.blogspot.com/
