Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, a Pearl Harbor veteran who became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Vietnam War, died February 5, 2004. His efforts to have an Israeli attack that killed 37 American investigated by congress lie unfinished.
Betrayal behind Israeli attack on U.S. ship
Houston chronicle, January 9, 2004
By Thomas Moorer
While State Department officials and historians converge on
Washington this week to discuss the 1967 war in the
Middle East, I am compelled to speak out about one of U.S.
history's most shocking cover-ups.
On June 8, 1967, Israel attacked our proud naval ship -- the USS
Liberty -- killing 34 American servicemen and wounding 172.
Those men were then betrayed and left to die by our own
government.
U.S. military rescue aircraft were recalled -- not once, but
twice -- through direct intervention by the Johnson
administration. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's
cancellation of the Navy's attempt to rescue the Liberty, which
I confirmed from the commanders of the aircraft carriers America
and Saratoga, was the most disgraceful act I witnessed in my
entire military career.
To add insult to injury, Congress, to this day, has failed to
hold formal hearings on Israel's attack on this American ship.
No official investigation of the attack has ever permitted
the testimony of the surviving crew members.
A 1967 investigation by the Navy, upon which all other reports
are based, has now been fully discredited as a cover-up by its
senior attorney. Capt. Ward Boston, in a sworn affidavit,
recently revealed that the court was ordered by the White House
to cover up the incident and find that Israel's attack was "a
case of mistaken identity."
Some distinguished colleagues and I formed an independent
commission to investigate the attack on the USS Liberty. After
an exhaustive review of previous reports, naval and other
military records, including eyewitness testimony from survivors,
we recently presented our findings on Capitol Hill. They include:
* Israeli reconnaissance aircraft closely studied the Liberty
during an eight-hour period prior to the attack, one flying
within 200 feet of the ship. Weather reports confirm the day was
clear with unlimited visibility. The Liberty was a clearly
marked American ship in international waters, flying an Ameri
can flag and carrying large U.S. Navy hull letters and numbers
on its bow.
* Despite claims by Israeli intelligence that they confused the
Liberty with a small Egyptian transport, the Liberty was
conspicuously different from any vessel in the Egyptian navy.
It was the most sophisticated intelligence ship in the world in
1967. With its massive radio antennae, including a large
satellite dish, it looked like a large lobster and was one of
the most easily identifiable ships afloat.
* Israel attempted to prevent the Liberty's radio operators from
sending a call for help by jamming American emergency radio
channels.
* Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned lifeboats at close range
that had been lowered to rescue the most-seriously wounded.
As a result, our commission concluded that:
* There is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a
deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her
entire crew.
* In attacking the USS Liberty, Israel committed acts of murder
against U.S. servicemen and an act of war against the United
States.
* The White House knowingly covered up the facts of this attack
from the American people.
* The truth continues to be concealed to the present day in what
can only be termed a national disgrace.
What was Israel's motive in launching this attack? Congress must
address this question with full cooperation from the National
Security Agency, the CIA and the military intelligence services.
The men of the USS Liberty represented the United States. They
were attacked for two hours, causing 70 percent of American
casualties, and the eventual loss of our best intelligence ship.
These sailors and Marines were entitled to our best defense. We
gave them no defense.
Did our government put Israel's interests ahead of our own? If
so, why? Does our government continue to subordinate American
interests to Israeli interests? These are important questions
that should be investigated by an independent, fully empowered
commission of the American government.
The American people deserve to know the truth about this attack.
We must finally shed some light on one of the blackest pages in
American naval history. It is a duty we owe not only to the
brave men of the USS Liberty, but to every man and woman
who is asked to wear the uniform of the United States.
----------------
Thomas Moorer was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
from 1970 to 1974 and once was 7th Fleet commander. He is
joined in the Independent Commission of Inquiry by Rear Adm.
Merlin Staring, former judge advocate general of the Navy; and
Ambassador James Akins, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi
Arabia. Gen. Ray Davis, former assistant commandant of the
Marine Corps, a member of the commission at the time of his
death in September. For complete findings and the sworn affidavit of Capt. Ward Boston, go to
www.ussliberty.org