RedCeltic
17th August 2003, 15:53
Here is a story few have heard about, it’s about the day Israel got away with an act of war against the United States.
During Israel’s war against Egypt in the 1960’s,( 6 day war) the US Navy ship USS Liberty was in international waters in the middle east, clearly marked, and flying the colors, when Israel fired upon it, putting a large hole in the ship and killing 30 US sailors.
This act of war, which would have provoked retaliation against any other nation, was quickly covered up. Israel stated that it mistook the US Navy ship (That was clearly marked USS Liberty on the back and hull number in plain view on the side) for a decommissioned US Ship that was sold off to the Egyptians. They also said that the US Ship was steaming through a war zone, not flying it’s colors.
This is the official version of the story that was accepted by both sides. Israel was kept off the hook for the attack of the USS Liberty, and the press and general public were unaware of the event ever transpiring. The captain of the sunken USS Liberty received the congressional medal of honor, the highest honor bestowed on a serviceman. However, because the event was to be kept from public view, the did not receive his medal at the white house, but rather he received it in a highly secretive ceremony at a shipyard.
The survivors of the USS Liberty remember things quite differently that the official version given by Israel. They said that the ship was in fact in international waters, clearly marked, and flying the colors… a nice clean brand new American flag. In fact, it’s Navy regulation to fly the colors when underway, to not do so is a violation of Navy regulation, and pretty unlikely.
Myself who personally served in the US Navy, knew people who were in the Navy during the war between Israel and Egypt. They had said that while traveling through the Suez, Israel would often fire over the bow of US ships traveling through it. The United States was ‘officially’ nuteral during the war, which from what I am told, provoked hostile attitudes of the Israelis on the US.
Here’s the website of the surviving crew of the USS Liberty for further information.
http://www.ussliberty.org/
During Israel’s war against Egypt in the 1960’s,( 6 day war) the US Navy ship USS Liberty was in international waters in the middle east, clearly marked, and flying the colors, when Israel fired upon it, putting a large hole in the ship and killing 30 US sailors.
This act of war, which would have provoked retaliation against any other nation, was quickly covered up. Israel stated that it mistook the US Navy ship (That was clearly marked USS Liberty on the back and hull number in plain view on the side) for a decommissioned US Ship that was sold off to the Egyptians. They also said that the US Ship was steaming through a war zone, not flying it’s colors.
This is the official version of the story that was accepted by both sides. Israel was kept off the hook for the attack of the USS Liberty, and the press and general public were unaware of the event ever transpiring. The captain of the sunken USS Liberty received the congressional medal of honor, the highest honor bestowed on a serviceman. However, because the event was to be kept from public view, the did not receive his medal at the white house, but rather he received it in a highly secretive ceremony at a shipyard.
The survivors of the USS Liberty remember things quite differently that the official version given by Israel. They said that the ship was in fact in international waters, clearly marked, and flying the colors… a nice clean brand new American flag. In fact, it’s Navy regulation to fly the colors when underway, to not do so is a violation of Navy regulation, and pretty unlikely.
Myself who personally served in the US Navy, knew people who were in the Navy during the war between Israel and Egypt. They had said that while traveling through the Suez, Israel would often fire over the bow of US ships traveling through it. The United States was ‘officially’ nuteral during the war, which from what I am told, provoked hostile attitudes of the Israelis on the US.
Here’s the website of the surviving crew of the USS Liberty for further information.
http://www.ussliberty.org/