Blood in the water --- USS Liberty

[Nannette]

by Bret Stevens

This is how the dots connect.

I am surfing a web site called Jew Watch (www.jewwatch.com). Its self-declared purpose is to keep "a Close Watch on Jewish Communities & Organizations Worldwide." I came across the site while looking into an allegation of a 1967 massacre of 1,000 Egyptian POWs by Israeli troops in El-Arish, on the Mediterranean shore of the Sinai. And I came across the allegation while watching a documentary first broadcast by the BBC.

Jew Watch is a virtual warehouse of anti-Semitic literature: It brings hundreds of Fascist, Leftist and Arab links together in a revealing whole. There are headings for "Jewish World Conspiracies," "Zionist Occupied Governments," "Jewish Genocides Today and Yesterday," and "Jewish Hate Groups"– among them, the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the ACLU.

Under the section for "Jewish Atrocities," there is a link to the "1967 Egyptian Massacre" about which I'm curious. This, in turn, links to an article James Ennes wrote in 1996 for The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, which Jew Watch reprints "with permission." The Report, published under the auspices of the American Educational Trust, bills itself as a sober, non-partisan publication; its publisher, Andrew Killgore, is a former US ambassador to Qatar who recently won respectful attention with an open letter denouncing Bush's Israel-Palestine policy. Yet even the most cursory look at the Report's site reveals it for what it is. "Journals of opinion," it says in an appeal for private donations, "do not bring in the same advertising revenue as mainstream magazines. Big corporations and the Zionist lobby want to control the editorial content around which their ads will be placed."

As for Ennes's article, it purports to explain Israel's motives for attacking the USS Liberty, an American spy ship operating just north of the Sinai coast, on June 8, 1967. Israelis have always claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity, whereas Ennes, who served as a deck officer on the Liberty, believes the IDF knew exactly who it was hitting. But why would Israel risk the wrath of its ally and patron by attacking the ship? This was always the stumbling block for those who suspected Israeli malice. Ennes's theory is that Israel feared the Liberty might discover what Israeli troops had been up to in El-Arish. Therefore it chose to commit a war crime in order to disguise a war crime.

LET'S MOVE now to the BBC. Earlier this month, Israel's Channel 8 aired "Dead in the Water," a documentary about the Liberty first broadcast last year by BBC 4. The documentary reconstructs the events surrounding the Liberty incident. Members of the crew, including Ennes, are interviewed, as are such former senior officials as Robert McNamara, Richard Helms, Ezer Weizman, Shlomo Gazit and Rafael Eitan.

It is an expensive production, and its promotional material promises "startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack." For instance, the viewer is told that, following the attack, "the US was about to launch a nuclear strike against Egypt, the Liberty's presumed attacker." The El-Arish "massacre," and Ennes's theory about it, is offered, as are two other theories to explain Israel's motives: One, that "the attack was intended to be blamed on Egypt, and would therefore draw America into the war"; and two, that the attack "was part of a larger plan hatched by Israeli and American intelligence, to invade Egypt and overthrow Nasser." What is beyond cavil, according to the documentary, is that the Israelis knew exactly what they were doing. "The inescapable conclusion," goes the voiceover, "is that Israel wanted no one left to tell the tale."

But there's a problem: If it was Israel's intention to leave nobody alive, why did they? Certainly there was nothing stopping them. Assuming Israel really was trying to cover up a massacre in El-Arish, why didn't the Israeli torpedo boats circling the crippled, unescorted, unarmed Liberty deliver the coup de grace? Assuming the attack had been planned well in advance, why did the Israeli Air Force drop napalm on the deck, instead of ship-sinking iron bombs? Assuming the attack was meant to look like the work of the Egyptians, thereby provoking US retaliation on Cairo, why did the Israelis attack in broad daylight instead of by stealth?

These are simple questions – so simple, in fact, that it may seem strange that the makers of "Dead in the Water" neither address nor answer them. But of course it isn't strange. For the only way "Dead in the Water" can be taken seriously is if one is predisposed to believe that Israel is capable of perpetrating irrational and basically frivolous cruelties. And plainly, the makers of this documentary are so disposed.

Why, for instance, would Israel massacre a thousand Egyptian POWs? Israel took tens of thousands of prisoners during the Six Day War; most of them, it quickly let go. So why kill a thousand? Because, one supposes, that is just the sort of thing Israelis do; they kill people for sport, in the manner that one hunts ducks for sport. (For the record, the principal sources of the massacre story – Israeli journalist Gabi Bron and scholar Aryeh Yitzhaki – both insist no massacres took place and that they were misquoted in an Associated Press dispatch out of which the El-Arish story arose. Their denials, a matter of public record, go unmentioned in "Dead in the Water.")

Similarly, why would Israel seek to inveigle the US into bombing Egypt? After all, by the time of the Liberty attack, Israel was well on the road to total victory over the Arabs, and US assistance was not required. So why do it? Because, the documentary implies, having the Americans vaporize Cairo would be a nice bonus for the Jewish state. And – guess what? – they very nearly got the US to do it.

The documentary goes on to tell how Israel – which in point of fact instantly apologized to the United States, paid $12 million in reparations, and launched three commissions of inquiry – succeeded in perpetrating a 35-year cover-up. There is also the suggestion that Lyndon Johnson did not want to antagonize his Jewish constituency, or his Jewish advisers, or his relationship with the Jewish state, and thus let the matter slide. Again, the impression conveyed is that Israel not only bombed an American ship deliberately, but got its pawn of an American president to do its bidding.

All in all, the portrait painted of Israel in "Dead in the Water" is of a country that asks itself "what can we get away with this time?" and then makes every effort to achieve new heights of wickedness. In this scenario, bombing your only ally's ship in order to cover up your massacre, getting him to pulverize the enemy capital, and then have him cover it all up for you, must seem like the ultimate trick. But leave it to the Jews to (nearly) carry it off.

We can be under no illusions about what we're dealing with here. "Dead in the Water" is of a piece with everything that is to be found on Jew Watch. Its illogic cannot be explained as a failure of understanding, but rather as a function of intent. That intent is to demonize the Jewish state precisely in the way that Jews themselves have traditionally been demonized: as international manipulators and bloodthirsty connivers.

The principal researcher for "Dead in the Water" is Peter Hounam, better known as the champion of nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu. Hounam has been barred from entering the country by the Interior Ministry. He now seeks to appeal that decision in an Israeli court, presumably on the grounds that no free country can reasonably or honorably bar an honest journalist from its shores. But "Dead in the Water" is not honest journalism. It is not journalism. It's the Damascus blood libel for the 21st century. And the Jewish state is under no obligation to entertain the motions of an anti-Semite.

bret@jpost.com

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1088046788934&p=1006953079897
_________________
He who is merciful with the cruel, will end-up being cruel to the merciful
- Kohelet Rabba 7:16

[Nannette]

U.S. Confirms Sinking of USS Liberty Was Accidental

By Nathan Guttman, Haaretz Correspondent 09/07/2003

WASHINGTON - New documents released this week by America's National Security Agency support Israel's version of a long-festering controversy between the two countries: Israel's sinking of an American spy ship, the USS Liberty, off the coast of Gaza during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel has always said it had no idea the ship was American, but conspiracy theorists and anti-Israel propagandists still claim Israel sank the ship in the full knowledge that it was American.

The documents, originally defined as top secret, were made public by Florida Judge Jay Cristol, who has been investigating the Liberty incident for years and published a book on the subject last year. On Monday, the NSA gave him a transcript of conversations held by two Israeli Air Force helicopter pilots who were hovering over the Liberty as it was sinking, and these tapes confirm Israel's claim that the sinking of the ship, which killed 34 American servicemen and wounded 171, was a tragic error.

After the Liberty was bombed by both the Israel Air Force and the Israel Navy, the two helicopter pilots were summoned from their base to assess the damage and evaluate the possibility of rescuing the surviving crew members. An American spy plane, which had been sent to the area as soon as the NSA learned of the attack, recorded their conversations, which took place between 2:30 and 3:37 P.M. on June 8, the third day of the war.

The spy plane also recorded the orders radioed to the pilots by their supervisor at Hatzor Base, which instructed them to search for Egyptian survivors from the "Egyptian warship" that had just been bombed - thus supporting Israel's claim that it had believed the ship was Egyptian when it ordered it attacked. "Pay attention. The ship is now identified as Egyptian," the pilots were told.

Nine minutes later, Hatzor informed the pilots that it was not an Egyptian warship, but an Egyptian cargo ship. Only at 3:07 were the pilots first informed that the ship might not have been Egyptian at all: Hatzor told them that if they found Arabic-speaking survivors, they should be taken to El-Arish, but if they found English-speaking survivors, they should be taken to Lod. "Clarify by the first man that you bring up, what nationality he is, and report to me immediately," the supervisor instructed, according to the transcript. "It's important to know."

Then, at 3:12, one of the pilots informed Hatzor that he saw an American flag flying over the damaged ship. He was asked to investigate and determine whether it was really an American ship.

This is not the first time such transcripts have been made public: Israel gave its own recordings of the pilots' conversations to the British television station Thames in 1987. But conspiracy theorists charged that Israel had doctored the tapes before handing them over to the station in order to hide the fact that it sank the Liberty intentionally. No such imputation can be made about these new transcripts, as they were never in Israeli hands.

Israel has always said it attacked the Liberty, which America sent to the region to gather intelligence on the progress of the war, because it believed it was an Egyptian supply ship ferrying supplies to the Egyptian troops that Israel was then fighting. When it discovered the error, it immediately informed the Americans, apologized and paid compensation to the victims' families.

The incident was investigated by inquiry commissions in both Israel and the United States, and both concluded that it had, indeed, been a tragic error. Nevertheless, the controversy never died. In 1979, one of the survivors, James Ennes, published a book accusing Israel of bombing the American ship deliberately. Ennes claimed an Israeli spy plane had hovered over the ship all morning and had surely identified it as American, since the American flag was clearly visible.

A later book, written by James Bamford, charged that Israel sank the ship in order to keep America from learning of its plans to attack Syria, and further claimed that the NSA had tapes of conversations among Israeli pilots that not only confirmed this, but also proved that the tapes released by Israel had been doctored.

Another claim that appears frequently on the dozens of Internet sites devoted to the affair is that Israel sank the ship to conceal a mass murder of Egyptian soldiers on the Sinai peninsula.

In its letter to Cristol, the NSA stressed that, contrary to the claims that often appear in such books and Web sites - that the agency has tapes from both the Liberty and from a nearby American submarine that confirm Israel's guilt - the only tapes that exist were those made by the spy plane and given to Cristol this week.

"It's the last piece of intelligence that remained classified, and every rational person that will read it will understand that there is no truth in these conspiracy theories against Israel," Cristol said Tuesday. But he added: Those who hate Israel, who hate Jews, and those who believe in conspiracy will not be convinced by anything."

Cristol, a former U.S. navy pilot and legal officer, began investigating the Liberty incident 14 years ago. Since publishing his book, which vindicates Israel, he has received threats and been accused of being an Israeli agent. "I take this lightly, but I am saddened to learn that there is this kind of hate toward Israel," he said.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/315934.html

This is a good article to save for the future when some anti-Semitic nutcase tries to claim Israel intentionally attacked an American vessel.

Posted by Reality Check on 9th July 2003 http://www.jerusalemposts.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=105
_________________
He who is merciful with the cruel, will end-up being cruel to the merciful
- Kohelet Rabba 7:16

[Nannette]

What do you think really happened to the USS Liberty?

A: Two years ago, I wrote an article for my academic center's journal, Azure, called "The USS Liberty: Case Closed." There were hundreds of documents that I was able to lay out on the floor in a minute-by-minute recreation of the incident - the case of an American spy ship, Liberty, that on the morning of June 8 was attacked by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats. Thirty-four American servicemen were killed. Israel apologized for the incident, claimed it was an accident; restitution was paid.

I concluded, as the restitution committee did many years ago, there really was nothing more to say about the incident. I stand by everything in my article, except for its title. Since publication of the article, two important sources have come to light. One was testimony of an American spy, Marvin Nowicki, who was flying an American spy plane over the coast of Israel at that time. He overheard parts of the attack, and he concluded in his deposition and in a letter to The Wall Street Journal, that without a shadow of a doubt this was a mistaken attack. The last piece of evidence I received before closing the final copy was the permission from the Israeli army to listen to the actual tapes of the Liberty attack. You hear the pilots reporting that they've spotted an Egyptian ship. It's not an Israeli ship; it's a military ship in the middle of a war zone, Israeli troops on the shore reporting that they're being shelled from the sea. The pilots ask for permission to shoot at it and you hear the pilots reporting their direct hits on the ship. But then you hear as the pilots see the markings, which are in Latin letters; Egyptian ships are usually not marked in Latin letters. They notice that there's no anti-aircraft fire and they think that they've attacked a Soviet ship. Then they realize that they've attacked an American ship, and then the ground controllers call in and acknowledge that they've made a terrible mistake. It was a terrible, awful tragedy, a low-point in U.S.-Israel relations certainly, but an accident.

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/02/02-06oren-qa.html
_________________
He who is merciful with the cruel, will end-up being cruel to the merciful
- Kohelet Rabba 7:16

[Anomalous]

I think I'll skip comment on this one, other than to say 'Scheisse geschieht'.

However, it is interesting to note that a group called 'the Liberty Lobby' existed in Washington DC for years, even publishing an anti-Jewish, anti-Israel newsletter. I think they have disbanded, but am not certain. Oddly, the bulk of their work consisted of identifying several groups called the 'Bilderbergers' and the 'TriLateral Commission'. I'll stop at that, except to mention they DID take their 'lobby name' from the USS Liberty and the incident by that name.

I'm curious: What caused you to post the USS Liberty information ? Just new stuff ?

[Nannette]

[Anomalous]

[Nannette]

Exclusive: Liberty attack tapes revealed

At 1:58 pm on June 8, 1967, Capt. Yiftach Spector lined up his Mirage IIICJ fighter jet above the USS Liberty and raked it from bow to stern with his armored-piercing bullets from his 30 mm guns.

Even now, 37 years later, the attack by the Air Force on the American spy ship on the fourth day of the Six Days' War fuels the fire of intrigue, conspiracy and cover-up theories. Nevertheless, what follows is powerful evidence that the attack was a tragic mistake.

The Israel Air Force archives have audiotapes of the radio transmissions made prior, during and after the attack. They have never been made public. The Jerusalem Post was allowed to listen to these tapes on an exclusive basis together with other Air Force historians. Here, for the first time, the actual transcripts of the radio transmissions between the pilot and ground station appear in the press.

Historians will be the first to say that raw material needs context. Therefore, it is important to present the entire unedited transcript of the attack to prevent Israel bashers from dissecting out the unflattering and incriminating comments and using them out of context.

This said, it is also vital that the text be annotated, translated from the jargon of 1967 Air Force language, to one that can be understood today.

There are a number of dramatic moments, including jockey calls by a pilot: that it would be a "mitzvah" to sink the ship before the Navy arrived and another says it was 'easier than MiGs.'

Another is when suddenly, in the middle of the attack, an unknown voice cuts in from the side: "What is this? What about the Americans?" And finally, the confusion over the identity is dwarfed by the split second decision making made by the chief air controller Col. Shmuel Kislev.

Obviously, listening to the tapes sends chills down one's spine.

The pilots speak only before and after they act. There are full minutes of almost total silence and you know that men are being killed.

The only sound is of an automated female voice of the time being red out every 20 seconds. "The time is now 14 and two minutes."

There are two tapes, one of the radio transmissions between the pilots and controllers, and the other is of telephone conversations between the chief air controller and regional air controllers. The audiotapes themselves were not released. The following transcript is a mix of the two tapes into one transcript, which explains the time overlaps.

Cast of characters:
Homeland - Air Controllers
Kislev - chief air controller at general headquarters in Tel Aviv
Menachem - chief air controller at Air Control South
Yigal - Menachem's deputy
Robert - chief air controller at Air Control Central
Shimon - Robert's deputy
L.K. - Capt. Lazar Karni, weapons system officer
Kursa - two-ship formation of Mirage IIICJs commanded by Capt. Yiftach Spector
Royal - two-ship formation of Super-Mysteres that made the second run on Liberty
Nixon - two-ship formation of Mysteres armed with bombs for third strike
Pagoda - three torpedo boats commanded by Lt.-Cmdr. Moshe Oren
Migdal - one of the three torpedo boats that communicates with the pilots

Background:
The Navy has just identified a mysterious vessel off El Arish possibly shelling the ammo depot on the beach. It dispatched three torpedo boats against it, but has asked the Air Force to intercept the ship.

13:50
KISLEV: Yigal, you have a ship at 26 (site designation). Take Kursa over there. If it's a warship then screw it.

YIGAL Clear

13:51
UNKNOWN Wait a minute Kislev. The Navy says that our torpedo boats are in the area and are called Pagoda. They're on frequency 186.

KISLEV If it is a warship you can attack. There are two of our torpedo boats there and they want (the pilots) to either see them or contact them on frequency 186. (There were actually three boats) Robert, do you have Royal?

ROBERT Royal?

SHIMON He is at Hava 16 (grid coordinates) That's route 15.

KISLEV Robert, take Royal along the coast so that if Kursa identifies then he'll be able to go in too.

ROBERT All right

KISLEV Menachem, how much fuel does Kursa have?

MENACHEM he has a lot. About a minute ago he had 3000 (liters)

13:52
KURSA What's the range? Seven turns, 040 degrees. Roger, I'll stay on 19 and 9 (frequencies). How do you call the torpedo boats? Pagoda? Kursa 9 and 3.

13:53
KURSA Homeland, keep on directing me to the place.

HOMELAND 045 degrees, 20 miles. Ah, can you see them at the moment?

13:54
KURSA Affirmative, it looks longer by eyesight.

LK What is this? Americans? (the weapons system officer in the general headquarters blurted out in what he later testified was a hunch.)

SHOMON Where are Americans?

KISLEV Robert, what are you saying?

(quickly disregarding the comment, Kislev moves on)

KISLEV Does he see more torpedo boats north of him?

13:55
KISLEV Menachem, if there are three torpedo boats, then this could be ours. (he is aware of the correct number of boats now)

SHIMON Pay attention, Kursa

13:55
KURSA Pagoda from Kursa. Migdal?

MIGDAL Affirmative

KURSA Are You attacking some ship now?

MIGDAL We're on our way to one.

KURSA OK. I'll come and give you a hand. Where are you?

KURSA Migdal from Kursa. Are you three? There is no need. Bring yourselves up some 10-15 kilometers from the ship. Is it in the direction of your home?

KURSA I see you on a right turn. Why are you turning? It's not in that direction.

MIGDAL OK, all right. Affirmative Affirmative.

13:56
MIGDAL Can you identify the target?

KURSA Can you identify his target, Migdal?

KURSA She's running from you in the direction of El Arish, correction, Port Said. What is it? What is it? A destroyer? A patrol boat? What is it?

MIGDAL Kursa, Can you manage to identify it?

KURSA I can't identify it, but in any case it's a military ship.

MIGDAL OK, what is it?

KURSA It has one mast and one smokestack

MIGDAL Roger

KURSA It has one mast up front.

13:56
SHIMON Menachem, Kursa is calling you.

SHIMON He says he is starting to strafe them.

MENACHEM I told him that if it is a warship then he has authorization to attack. That was the last command.

KISLEV Menachem

MENACHEM Does he have authorization to attack?

KISLEV He does. If this is a warship then yes. Royal is to be directed to there.

MENACHEM OK

KISLEV Send Royal over there with bombs

ROBERT On what frequency are you attacking?

SHIMON She's running away from this (he says this as he monitors the Liberty on his radar screen)

KISLEV Menachem, after he attacks have him explain to Royal how to find her.

SHIMON She's fleeing very fast.

KISLEV OK, attack.

SHIMON Robert, have Royal call us on 19.

ROBERT Royal to you on 19.

13:57
SHIMON Just a second, Kislev, we see the ship. (on radar) That's one hell of a ship.

ROBERT Menachem, I passing 105th (Super Mysteres squadron) to you on 19. Royal (over) El Arish at 20 (20,000 feet)

KISLEV Menachem, have (Kursa) tell us if there is anti-aircraft fire.

13:58
KISLEV Menachem, nu?

MENACHEM We're asking him. She's not shooting back.

KISLEV Not shooting? Give me 19. (his voice has a puzzled expression)

13:59
KURSA We've hit her a lot ...but maybe she is doing it (putting out smoke) on purpose, I don't know. Oil is spilling out into the water. I'm in eye contact. Great! Wonderful! She's burning! She's burning!

MENACHEM Did you hear? He's hit her a lot. There's a lot of black smoke. There's an oil leak into the water. He's continuing.

KISLEV Was there any anti-aircraft fire on him?

MENACHEM She's burning! The warship is burning!

MENACHEM Shumlik, she's burning! The moment Kursa is finished we're sending in Royal.(he uses Kislev's first name Shmulik in his excitement)

KISLEV That's right, to sink her. (he says this flatly)

MENACHEM To sink her, OK.

14:00
ROYAL Eye contact with the target. Eye contact with Kursa. Royal requests 15 (15,000 feet)

KURSA OK, Kursa is coming in ..you a bit further in. I'll go in the direction OK (his comments are to his wingman)

KURSA I think she is putting out smoke on purpose. It's coming out of the smokestack. OK. I'm finished too. The ship is really burning. There is a large fire and a lot of black smoke.

14:01
KURSA Royal, you altitude? We're at 5 (5,000 feet).

ROYAL You're east, right?

KURSA We're south of the ship.

14:01
KISLEV Menachem

MENACHEM We're sending in Royal

KISLEV Good

ROBERT (garbled) this ship?

KISLEV Menachem, if Royal has napalm it would be more efficient.

14:02
KURSA Affirmative

ROYAL Not ours?

ROYAL Homeland, can you hear? Call Homeland on 19. Ask if it's allowed to go in.

ROYAL I understand do not go in. Fine. We're circling above the ship at 15. (15,000 feet) Tell him that the Navy will be arriving before us. I can see.

14:02
SHIMON Menachem, Royal is calling you.

MENACHEM He got off the line

KURSA I've got him. (Kursa is relaying to control for Royal)

ROYAL Does Royal have permission?

[20 empty seconds pass]

SHIMON Kislev, there's doubt as to the identification.

KISLEV If there is a doubt, don't attack.

SHIMON Don't attack Menachem.

ROBERT Pay attention. There is doubt as to the identification. (Robert consults with a naval liaison officer in his headquarters)

KISLEV What does that mean?

ROBERT OK, you can go in. (apparently resolving the issue with the Navy)

KISLEV You may go in.

KURSA Affirmative, you have permission, Royal.

14:02
ROYAL Sausages, in the middle and up in one pass. Two together. (he instructs his wingman on dropping the napalm) We'll come in from the rear. Watch out for the masts. Don't hit the masts, careful of the masts. I'll come in from her left, you come behind me.

SHIMON Next formation - get a briefing on what took place.

14:03
ROBERT Authorized to sink her?

KISLEV You can sink her.

SHIMON Royal is exchanging words. They started chatting

ROBERT One Eight (sector coordinates) that is not the ship. Wait a minute

14:04
KISLEV Menachem, Is he screwing her?

MENACHEM He's going down on her with napalm all the time.

KISLEV You don't need anymore for the ship. Enough.

MENACHEM There is no need. Our forces are there. The Navy's there too.

SHIMON It'll be worth it just for the insurance.

KISLEV But napalm went there.

UNKOWN What does napalm do (to a ship?)

14:04
ROYAL on the right side of the stern ..

14:05
ROYAL WING You've missed by an undershot.

ROYAL a deep gash

14:05
KISLEV What is Kursa reporting? Was there any ant-aircraft fire?

MENACHIM I've passed him on to 33 (frequency) and asked for a report.

KISLEV Robert, ask Kursa if there was any anti-aircraft fire.

ROBERT Kislev, the Navy asks not to sink her completely. They want to get close and have a look.

SHIMON Have them rescue the people with the torpedo boats to help.

ROBERT OK, finish with this formation. The torpedoes are coming up to the them.

14:06
KISLEV What does Kursa say?

ROBERT I'm telling you already. 'This is easier than (shooting down) MiGs.'

KISLEV What is the situation now?

UNKNOWN I don't know. Two (Royal wingman) hit the ship with (napalm) and now he's strafing.

14:07
ROYAL Fine pull up.

ROYAL I'm behind you. Careful of her antennas.

14:08
ROYAL Homeland from Royal, how do you hear me? She has some kind of marking, P30 and something.

KISLEV Robert, take formation 116 (Nixon) out there too.

ROBERT Good

MENACHEM Her marking (he is cut off by Kislev)

KISLEV Yes I heard. We are checking.

14:09
ROYAL Homeland, if you could have a two-ship formation with bombs (here) before the Navy arrives then it would be a mitzvah. Otherwise the Navy will be here in 10 minutes.

SHIMON Before the Navy arrives, it will be a mitzvah.

KISLEV In the meantime take formation 116 (Nixon). Who is checking this? (the mysterious markings on the ship)

SHIMON Royal reported that it would be a mitzvah before the Navy comes!

KISLEV Look for a flag if they can see one. Have Royal look. See if they can identify her with a flag.

14:10
ROYAL Twelve o'clock ..look higher. Now left, slowly, slowly a bit faster so it will stay external, OK?

14:10
ROBERT Kislev, they (the Navy) are asking us not to do anything else about her. They want to take her. It's a pity to sink her. I want to receive an answer.

KISLEV No, no, We are attacking meanwhile.

14:11
ROBERT Menachem, Is Royal leaving?

MENACHEM Not yet. Just a moment. He is reporting something.

KISLEV OK attack, Menachem (he orders Nixon in for a third strike)

ROBERT Menachem, has Royal left?

MENACHEM Not yet.

14:11
ROYAL Homeland from Royal, do you read me? Pay attention. This ship's markings are Charlie-Tango-Romeo 5. There is no flag on her! She looks like a minesweeper with that marking. Roger, I'm leaving her. I'm staying around one more minute. (the Liberty's correct markings were GTR-5)

14:12
ROBERT What altitude? What altitude is Royal reaching?

MENACHEM Charlie-Senator-Romeo (he incorrectly recalls CSR-5)

KISLEV Leave her! (his flat tone changes dramatically as he realizes this was no Egyptian ship)

ROBERT Leave her. What ship is this?

KISLEV Leave her. (he says tersely) Menachem report the approximate damage. (Redirect) 116 to its original mission.

14:13
ROYAL Homeland, there's external fire on her, a lot of hits on her upper parts. People are jumping into the water. She's not shooting at all. She has hardly any armaments on her. She's going full steam towards the north.

KISLEV Shimon, Robert. We're sending two helicopters to them.

ROBERT Good. Clear. I am dispatching helicopters.

14:14
MENACHEM Kislev, what country?

KISLEV Apparently American.

Coverup

There are two negative stories about Israel-US relations that refuse to die and are raised periodically. One of them is the Pollard espionage affair and the other is the attack on the USS Liberty. They often are mentioned in the same breath.

Dozens of books have been written and documentaries made on the attack that killed 34 US sailors and wounded over 170. At least ten official US and three Israeli investigations concluded it was the result of a tragic mistake made in the heat of battle. But for some in the world it was inconceivable that the Israeli intelligence which orchestrated the enormous victory of the Six Days' War could have made such a gross mistake. There must be another explanation.

"There isn't," says Michael Oren, author of the acclaimed Six Days of War and senior fellow at The Shalem Center in Jerusalem. "Conspiracy theories in general live, and regarding Jews and Israel they are immortal."

"They don't die because they tap into the notion or belief of an international Jewish cabal, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion thing," he says. "The USS Liberty conspiracists all claim that Israel uses its lobbies and threaten to withhold support to anyone critical of the country. It is nefarious and sinister. It is anti-Semitism."

Besides that, the incident includes terrific elements for conspiracies, Oren says.

"It involves a spy ship. It involves Israel committing an egregious error in the middle of a war where it was perceived to have been flawless. The combination of the NSA (National Security Agency) and the Israeli Air Force is a conspiracy theorists dream,"

Oren says, adding there was little Israel could to do fight it.

Meanwhile, the survivors of the USS Liberty continue to gather to remember their friends, but also to perpetuate the conspiracy that not only were deliberately attacked, but that it was covered up at the highest American and Israeli levels.

Less than 20 of the hundreds of survivors came to this year's memorial held two weeks ago (May 22) in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

"We all believe we're finally getting to the point where the truth may be told and the world is ready to listen," says Cmdr. David Lewis, who oversaw intelligence on the ship and remembers most of the attack that left him with superficial burns and destroyed his eardrums.

The view from the cockpit

Of the four pilots who took part in the attack, three are alive today. One died in 1979 during an aviation accident. For years their identities were classified. Last October, Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Yiftach Spector agreed to be identified and gave an exclusive interview on the attack to this reporter. Here are some of his comments.

"There was a mistake. Mistakes happen. As far as I know, the mistake was of the USS Liberty being there in the first place," said Spector, who at the time was deputy squadron commander of the 101st and used the code name "Kursa" during the attack.

"I did not fire on the Liberty as a human target. I was sent to attack a sailing vessel. This ship was on an escape route from the El Arish area which at that same moment had heavy smoke rising from it," said Spector.

He had been on an air-to-air mission and was not loaded with bombs.

"I was told on the radio that it was an Egyptian ship off the Gaza coast. Hit it. The luck of the ship was that I was armed only with light ammunition (30mm) against aircraft. If I had had a bomb it would be sitting on the bottom today like the Titanic. I promise you," Spector said.

"Every order is given by commanders and the last one to receive it has to decide whether he will pull the trigger or not. In this instance I was the fighter. I checked what I had to check (i.e. that it was a military ship and not one of ours) and pulled the trigger," Spector said.

"The crew should be thankful for their luck (that I was on an air-to-air mission and did not have any bombs) I'm sorry for poor Capt. (William Loren) McGonagle whose leg was wounded and the other guys who were killed and wounded."

"I'm sorry for the mistake. In war mistakes happen," Spector said. "But it wasn't my mistake."

He added he remained baffled that the conspiracy theories live on that Israel deliberately attacked the US intelligence ship. He suggested it might be due to anti-Semitism, or anti-Israeli sentiments. He has never in the past 37 years ever met with any of the Liberty survivors, but had no qualms about doing so now.

"These people never, ever spoke to me. Perhaps they are anti-Semites? Or these guys feel hurt and are looking for guilty parties, maybe to get compensation, or money? I am not afraid to meet them. Anyone who wants to meet with me is welcome. I don't have any claims against them. I don't want any compensation from them or anything. If they want they can look me up. And they best not deal with lies and deception since it won't help. It's best they tell the truth."

"They must understand that a mistake was made here," Spector said. "The fool is one who wanders about in the dark in dangerous places, so they should not come with any complaints."

Spector, 63, who went on to become a triple ace shooting down 15 enemy aircraft, base commander and took part in the infamous 1981 raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor, earned a place in the pantheon of Israeli fly boys. He has spent the past 20 years teaching new generation of fliers. He was dismissed from the IAF last year for signing a letter with other pilots protesting the policy of targeted killings.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1086230742987&p=1006953079845
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He who is merciful with the cruel, will end-up being cruel to the merciful
- Kohelet Rabba 7:16

[Anomalous]

Clearly, some ship was shelling El Arish. Clearly, it wasn't the Liberty.

It would be interesting to see what happened to the other ship. Both should have shown on radar. The radar OF THE TIME may have missed the Egyptian ship ... but I doubt it. I hope the torpedo boats got the other ship. That'd be the 'end of the story'.