Israeli Attack on American Ship Draws Renewed Attention 40 years later

Press Release
For immediate release

CONTACT:

Liz Viering

860-535-2487

lizviering@gmail.com

www.CNIFoundation.org

American Public to Honor USS Liberty Veterans

on 40th Anniversary of Israeli Attack

Thirty-four killed and 172 wounded in the heaviest attack on American ship since WWII

“…I am now of the firmest conviction that the Liberty survivors have suffered, for 40 years, an unprecedented injustice at the hands of our very own Navy and government…” Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, JAGC,USN (RET.) former Judge Advocate General of the Navy.

Washington, D.C. (June 4, 2007) Americans will gather in Washington on June 8th at 4:00 PM at the Navy Memorial Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue to honor USS Liberty veterans on the 40th anniversary of Israel’s unprovoked attack on their ship.

The American intelligence ship sustained 70 percent casualties but remained afloat due to the heroic actions of its crew after Israel’s two-hour attack. Thirty-four sailors and marines were killed and 172 wounded in the heaviest attack on an American ship since World War II.

Rescue cancelled by White House while ship under attack

According to the Department of the Navy, the only official American government investigation of the event was a 1967 Navy Court of Inquiry that found the attack to be a case of “mistaken identity”. That hastily conducted investigation has since been discredited by its chief attorney, Captain Ward Boston, as a cover-up ordered by the Johnson White House.

“It was a political thing. We were ordered to ‘put a lid on it’. The facts were clear. Israel knew it was an American ship and tried to sink it and murder the entire crew. The outrageous claims by Israel’s apologists who continue to claim the attack was a mistake pushed me to speak out. The official record is not the one I certified”, said Boston, a former FBI agent. “My initials are not on it”.

According to senior naval officers, Johnson personally ordered the Navy to recall its aircraft and cancel its rescue mission while the Liberty was still under attack by Israeli forces before ordering the cover-up (www.ussliberty.org).

Independent Commission concludes attack was deliberate

Senior military, diplomatic, and intelligence officials have long held that the magnitude and duration of the coordinated attack by combined air and naval forces on the easily recognizable ship precluded any possibility that it was a mistake. In 2003, an independent commission headed by former Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer concluded the attack was deliberate. Israeli aircraft had closely studied the clearly marked American ship in international waters flying a large American flag for more than eight hours prior to the two-hour attack. With massive radio antennae, including a large satellite dish, the ship’s profile made it one of the most easily identifiable ships afloat. Additionally, attacking aircraft jammed all five of the ship’s American emergency radio channels and Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned at close range life rafts that had been lowered to rescue the most-seriously wounded. [See “Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry”, Congressional Record, October 11, 2004, Vol. 150, No. 130, E1886 to E1889].


Surviving veterans never permitted to publicly testify

Liberty survivors, many disabled, their bodies still carrying pieces of shrapnel in a daily reminder of the attack, are now senior citizens. Never permitted to publicly testify by the Navy or Congress, these veterans have been seeking an honest official investigation for 40 years. Pursuant to recent federal enactments, they filed a war crimes report with the Secretary of the Defense in 2005.


American public invited to honor crew

At the Navy Memorial event, the American public will thank the Liberty veterans for their service and sacrifice, and apologize for the mistreatment they’ve received from their own government.