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Could the USS Liberty surface as a campaign issue?
The latest news on the Liberty, the Navy spook ship attacked by
Israel on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, is that recently
released National Security Agency documents are backing up what many
-- including the survivors of Liberty -- have been saying for 40
years: that Israel knew full well that it was attacking -- with
aerial strafing, napalm and torpedoes -- an American vessel.
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Will Presidential Candidates Address this?
You may have read it on Military.com, one of the few news sites
to run the piece in total. Other than The Chicago Tribune, which
came out with the story, only The Baltimore Sun picked up the piece,
according to a Google search.
It will be interesting to see is whether any presidential candidates
address the latest revelations, since those from both parties
frequently tout longstanding ties and mutual loyalty between the
U.S. and Israel.
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McCain Stands Behind Israel
One candidate with a real interest in this story is Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., who five years ago endorsed a book, The Liberty
Incident, that concluded it was a mistake. McCain's interest stems
from the fact that his father, the late Adm. John S. McCain, was
commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Europe, at the time, and ordered the
official court of inquiry to investigate the attack.
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An Israeli Apologist
It was about that same time that The Liberty Incident, by A. Jay
Cristol, a former Navy pilot and retired judge, hit the
bookshelves.Sen. McCain praised the book and its findings in a blurb
that appeared on the back cover.
In recent months there have been more revelations about the attack
and immediate aftermath, however. In June, I reported that the Navy
already was calling the attack accidental in its casualty
notification telegrams to next of kin even before the court of
inquiry convened for the first time.
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NSA Director Confirms Israelis Knew
Then came the Tribune story last week, reporting that the
National Security Agency's deputy director of operations in 1967 now
confirms that transcripts of U.S. intercepts of Israeli
communications show the Israelis knew exactly who they were
attacking.
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Israeli Command said "Attack"
Oliver Kirby is quoted in the Trib story as recalling the Israeli
pilots several times identifying the ship as American but being told
to attack anyway. While some of the original transcripts and intel
have disappeared, the story reports that some of it is still in U.S.
government archives.
So far, calls to McCain's senate and campaign offices have not been
returned.
-- Bryant
Jordan
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