"Maiming the Liberty" Richard Sale

By Richard Sale, author of Clinton’s Secret Wars 

The USS Liberty was a former merchant ship stationed at Norfolk, Virginia. Its sister ship, soon to become another infamous tragedy, was the USS Pueblo.  Israel had begun to plan for war against a truculent Egypt and bellicose Syria early in 1967. On May 14, Soviet intelligence warned Cairo and Damascus that Israel was planning to invade them on May 17 using 13 brigades. 

This report was a Russian fabrication given to Egyptian leader Nasser by the KGB in Cairo as a means of making him more dependent on Moscow. Egypt had signed defense pacts with Jordan and Baghdad. Jordan was a “friend” of America, its leader King Hussein was being paid $7 million per year by the CIA for “security,” according to a former CIA official. America wanted to keep that “friend” in the region. 

On June 2, the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt warned Nasser to expect an Israeli invasion in three days. Syria was jittery about the prospect of war, and Nasser, instead of striking first, decided it would be better public relations if Egypt and its allies were to be seen as a victims. But most of all, he wanted to avoid conflict and sent a peace mission to New York. Nasser had closed the Tiran Strait which leads from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Arabia and Eilat, but in New York offered to reopen it in return for a U.N. force. It was about this time that Israel decided on a Pearl Harbor style preemptive attack against him. 

For years the CIA had tried to use covert operations to topple Nasser from power but no American administration wanted the Egyptian toppled by Israel. France was another strong opponent of Israel in the region and tried to warn it off of war. For its part, Moscow was urging Israel to back off, pledging that the Arab countries would rein in the Palestinians. Moscow did promise, however, to support any Arab countries that were attacked. 

On June 5, the war began, and a key element of the Israeli plan was to lure Jordan, on false pretenses, into the war. This would allow Israel to seize East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Syria’s Golan Heights. After the fighting began, Washington urged restraint on Israel, asking for assurances that Egypt would be Tel Aviv’s only target, not Syria and certainly not Jordan.  The United States also asked that in the event Jordan joined the war, there would be no attempt by Israel to occupy any Jordanian territory. 

There was a viper in the Easter Basket, however. James Angleton (with whom I have spoken many times), was then the head of CIA covert operations and a friend of Israel. (It gave him his own cypress tree when he died.) He was the funnel through which U.S.-Israeli communications passed, and some U.S. spooks felt he was not to be trusted, and U.S. Navy officials quietly asked the National Security Agency to verify Israeli assurances by technical means. 

The Liberty was part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Joint Reconnaissance Command, and its crew of 19 officers and 395 men included 100 technicians, mainly Hebrew and Arabic speakers. The Liberty sailed from the west coast of Africa where it had been monitoring the outbreak of Nigeria’s civil war into the Mediterranean. Sailing 200 feet below it was the US Polaris ballistic missile submarine, the Andrew Jackson. The times couldn’t have been more tense, the stakes could not have been higher, and the Andrew Jackson was tasked with taking out any Israeli long range missile sites before the Soviets attempted to do so and produce the horrors of World War III. 

The U.S. interceptors had a moment of sickening surprise when they discovered that Israel was intercepting Jordan’s radio traffic, doctoring it, and re-sending it to Amman. This was a vital and closely held Israeli secret. On June 7, the then Under Secretary of State Eugene Rostow met with Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Avarham Harman and told the Israeli that Tel Aviv must cease its invasion of Egypt and Jordan.  Harman said that Israel was merely “resisting aggression,” but Rostow spat that the United States knew that Israel had lured Jordan into the war by means of fake reports of Egyptian victories. 

Harman was deeply troubled by the meeting and phoned Israel in the middle of the night. Tel Aviv then issued orders for its aircraft to sink the U.S. communications ship, the Liberty. 

The Liberty’s decoding equipment, computers, spectrum analyzers were all stored below the water line. The ship’s captain William McGonagle drove his ship over pre-planned routes and knew nothing of the content of NSA activities. On June 8, three Israeli French-made Mirage III fighters attacked with 72 rockets, napalm and machine guns. They wounded McGonagle and killed the chief NSA officer Allen Bloom. The attack was filmed in its entirety through the Andrew Jackson’s periscope. 

When news of the attack reached Washington, the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered a counterstrike by U.S. A-4 Skyhawks on the Israeli MTB (Motorboat/Torpedo Base) at Haifa but the order was countermanded by President Johnson. 

The battered Liberty with 34 dead and 171 wounded finally limped into Malta and the first Court of Inquiry was convened under Admiral Isaac Kidd in London The Israelis claimed that their forces had mistakenly thought the Liberty to be an Egyptian supply ship half its size. But in its final findings, another court, then headed by Admiral John S. McCain, U.S. Commander-in-Europe, rejected the Israeli explanation as preposterous. (Indeed, Israel apologized and that was accepted.) The Court said the Liberty had been attacked by “foreign boats and planes” but did not mention their nationality. 

Former U.S. intelligence officials said later that the White House had not pressed Israel harder because Israel was party to several U.S. covert operations meant to oust Nasser of Egypt which Israel would release to the world, poisoning the American position in the Arab world. Apparently the threat worked. 

Documents released in 1977 under the Freedom of Information Act show clearly that Israel knew the Liberty’s identity and that General Moshe Dyan ordered the sinking over the protest of close advisors. Other NSA intercepts, still classified, support this. As British statesman Lord Palmerston said, in foreign policy, “there are no friends, only interests.” 

Nor was the Liberty incident, the last incident that displayed Israeli ruthlessness when it came to American lives. On Oct. 3, 1973 in what many called the Yom Kippur or Ramadan War, the Syrian’s were ;poised to recapture the Golan after an Israeli commander warned Defense Minister Dayan of the collapse of Israeli forces. Israel rushed to arm 13 Jericho intermediate range missiles armed with nuclear warheads. The arming took three days and six hours. 

On Oct. 12, a U.S. Air Force SR-71 reconnaissance plane that could fly as fast as a rifle bullet, took off from the east coast of the United States. Over the Negev Desert, the Mach-3 Blackbird began to pick up signals indicating the nuclear arming of missiles. Out in the Mediterranean, an Israeli communications ship tracking all combatants suddenly received transmissions from two Israeli pilots done in Hebrew and in the clear. The Blackbird had been spotted. “Affirmative,” said one pilot. “I have it. It’s a Blackbird.” The controller replied, “Down it.” A US Navy E-2C Hawkeye flying off of Cyprus had warned the Blackbird which quickly popped up to 85,000 feet or double the altitude of the Israeli fighters. 

Was it a bluff? Or were the Israelis in earnest. We don’t know but we can guess.

 

 

Comments

[ting]

Have any other US allies behaved towards the US in any similar way?

Oh and I think the date 3. Oct 1973 must be wrong. According to the wiki, that war began on Oct 6.

[Sidney O. Smith III]

Fascinating analysis.

Subject to change, I place the probabilities as follows:

55 percent Dayan issued the order to attack the USS Liberty
45 percent Rabin.

Say it ain’t so, Rabin.

In my opinion, it is vitally important to factor in that the IDF attacked the Liberty about an hour after Dean Rusk cabled the GOI not to take the Golan Heights. So one has to look at the inner dynamics within the Israeli war cabinet that lead to their decision to take the G. Heights.

So step one would be to compare Mr. Sale’s excellent analysis, particularly the description of the unfolding of the Six Day War to Tom Segev’s book on the same. Segev -- one of the new Israeli historians -- hardly refers to the USS Liberty. But by not saying much he reveals even more. And his few paragraphs re: Liberty are absolutely key, particularly when cross referenced with other sources. Segev knows, Segev knows.

Also, it is important to remember that the GOI warned the USG to keep all ships out of what the GOI considered the theatre of war or face the consequences. As the attack on the free Gaza flotilla clearly demonstrates, Israelis believe that once they make an order, even one that has no backing in international law, they are then justified to launch pre emptive attacks.

And, while we are at it, the attack on the Gaza flotilla acts as a similar transaction (to revert to legalese) that reveals the Israeli bent of mind. And the GOI admitted that the decision to attack the flotilla came from high within in the chain of command.

So this is supporting evidence that the attack against the Liberty also came from high in the chain of command, in addition to overwhelming evidence discussed elsewhere.

As I say, Dayan or Rabin. No where lower on the chain of comman.

I am not sure there were that many Hebrew translators on the USS Liberty (Allen Blue comes to mind). But perhaps Ken Halliwell will chime in and when it comes to forensic analysis of the USS Liberty incident, Halliwell knows, Halliwell knows.

(Senator Webb knows too but alas...)

[mo]

Colonel,
There are some incongruities in this report that I wonder if you can clarify for me:

- Why is the Russian warning to Egypt, a ,mere 3 weeks before the war, described as a "fabrication" simply because they got the date wrong?

- Why is France described as a "strong opponent" of Israel, when it was arming Israel to the teeth (with Mirage III fighters no less) and was strongly allied with the Lebanese Maronites who in turn were close to Israel?

- How is it that US could warn Nasser about an impending attack but that no one at any point thought to tell Americas $7 million a year asset, Hussein, that he was being fed wrong intel?

- If Israeli threats of exposing America's covert activities had the US enough by the balls to stop them reacting to the murder of their own people, how is it that they continued to be trusted in further operations?

[Brien J Miller]

Sorry- have to question the reserach here; these ships are not sisters. One look at the wiki pictures shows that:

USS Pueblo
550 tons light, 895 tons full, 345 tons dead.
The ship was launched at the Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, on April 16, 1944, as United States Army Freight and Passenger (FP) FP-344.

USS Liberty
7725 tons (light displacement.
Her keel was laid down on 23 February 1945, as Simmons Victory, a Maritime Commission-type (VC2-S-AP3) hull, under a Maritime Commission contract at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation of Portland, Oregon.

It's not that this is a point of trivia; the colonel often questions those who are not careful with their research and surely will those who want the Liberty incident buried. Let's not give them any ammo over trivial points. Please correct the story.

[Patrick Lang]

BJM

It is for Richard to "correct" his research, not me. pl

[Patrick Lang]

mo

Once again, I am not the author. pl

[charlie]

I wonder who has killed more American Citizens -- Isreal or the PLO.

[Ken Halliwell]

As others have noted, Mr. Sale's account of the USS Liberty incident has a few holes in it.

Based on direct evidence:

a) Of the linguists aboard Liberty, only a handful were Arab and Russian linguist. One fellow, named Baker, was formally trained in Hebrew, but he had been performing as a Spanish linguist for ten years before being temporarily assigned to Liberty, by mistake. For more info see: http://sites.google.com/site/usslibertyinquiry/essay18

b) To date, no direct evidence has surfaced (no pun intended) about a submarine being in the shallow waters directly below USS Liberty -- let alone that it was USS Andrew Jackson. On the other hand, there is hearsay that a conventional U.S. submarine (a diesel boat) was somewhere in the neighborhood.

c) The purported tampered communications between Cairo and Amman occurred on June 6 -- two days before Liberty arrived in the area. Of course, this does not preclude that the U.S. somehow discovered a deception, but it's extremely unlikely that it was via Liberty.

d) There were two internal decks that housed virtually all of Liberty's signal intercept equipment. One was immediately below main deck and completely above the waterline. The other was one level down from the first one, and about halfway below the water line. The only deck completely below the waterline was the bottom deck; it housed repair shops and a class room.

e) There was no NSA person named Allen Bloom aboard the ship. The three NSA guys were named: Allen Blue, Donald Blalock, and Robert Wilson. None of the NSA guys were in charge of anything -- they were linguists and analysts. Navy LCDR Dave Lewis was the officer in charge of all research department operations.

f) etc...

[Jose]

Any news on the movie being made about the incident?

[Jane]

So you are not the victim of aggression if you lead the would-be aggressor to believe he's got a chance to kick you when you are down?

Hmmm, so spying on an ally is okay if you are America?

[Patrick Lang]

Jane

Spying on an ally is "all right" for every country in the world including Israel. pl

[kao_hsien_chih]

Jane,

Weren't you arguing some time ago that Israel spying on USA was all right because Israel is supposedly an "ally" of United States?

[confusedponderer]

So you are not the victim of aggression if you lead the would-be aggressor to believe he's got a chance to kick you when you are down?

Hmmm, so spying on an ally is okay if you are America?

Spying on an ally is "all right" for every country in the world including Israel. pl

Relativity Jane,
the extent of the spying and the damage done, and in case of the USS Liberty, the violence against a nominal ally, are then factors that come into play. That and utter dishonesty in inter-'allied' communications. It is hard to retain mutual trust when you repeatedly catch someone lying in your face.

It is hard to maintain that that you are actually a US ally when your nation killed 34 and wounded 171 'allied' sailors, deliberately - in an attempt to kill them all and sink their ship.

It is equally hard to maintain that that you are actually a US ally when your nation sells out crown jewel information to an arch enemy of the US, crippling US intelligence collection against said arch enemy, with whom the US is in a half decade global thermonuclear stand off. All that while taking US financial and military support (for granted, more, regarding it as a right and entitlement).

Or those instances of the Israelis reverse engineering and/or selling to China or Russia US technology.

An alliance is characterised by reciprocity. Pursuit of some common goal, accompanied by otherwise total disregard for US interests while taking US arms and money (sucker!) is simply being parasitic.

Mutual spying aside, when in the end the 'ally' side of the balance sheet is in the deep red, the question arises whether that 'ally' is more trouble than he is worth, indeed, if he is a liability. It is a legitimate question that needs to be answered soberly.

[J]

Colonel,

IMO your Spying on an ally is "all right" for every country in the world including Israel. pl comment needs to be expanded to include that it is NOT all right when Israels' ESPIONAGE on U.S. puts the citizens of the ally [U.S.] at grave risk because the spying country [Israel] sold their 'ally' [U.S.] down the river. Example -- Pollard's espionage that cost the lives of 110 American assets, and over 1600 of American foreign assets! If it wasn't for U.S., Israel would not exist today. And that's the thanks that Israel gives U.S., repeated back-stabbing and endangerment!

To hell with Israel and the horse it rode in on when it puts my family and my fellow citizens at grave risk!

[Sidney O. Smith III]

As I say, Halliwell knows. I truly recommend reviewing his website from time to time, and then incorporate his forensic work into any overall explanation of the attack. As someone mentioned, inaccurate assertions undermine the pursuit for the truth. And Halliwell knows the USS Liberty incident in much the same manner as Neil Richardson knows German and Korean history.

http://sites.google.com/site/usslibertyinquiry/

For some reason, I thought Blue spoke Hebrew but, at best, he understood Hebrew.

Regardless, Senator Webb makes much to do about strolling Arlington National Cemetery while contemplating the spirit of America. I applaud such an idea but one would think at some point he would come across certain gravesites that would speak to the conscience. If Webb paused at these gravesites, then he might find himself reborn fighting for the USS Liberty and all the US military personnel who are risk today because of this continued cover up.

Oh well…here’s hoping…

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/liberty.htm

(Reborn fighting for reelection…could make for a good campaign slogan in Virginia, no?)

[Patrick Lang]

ALL

"spying" is part of the game of nations. As for hurt feelings, it is all a matter of whose ox is being gored. pl

[Jake]

Spying is one thing for any country. But attacking an asset of that country causing death and destruction without cause is basically an act of war and in many cases murder.

People are getting caught up with who said and reported what. The issue is getting to the truth and the only way to do that is a Congressional Investigation. The problem here is there is no out cry from the American Public for answers...

[oofda]

Doesn't it seem odd that a ballistic missile submarine, the ANDREW JACKSON, was purportedly involved in the mission? According to Sales' account, its mission was to 'take out Israeli long-range missile sites before the Soviets attempted to do so and produce the horrors of WWIII.' But the ANDREW JACKSON was only armed with nuclear missiles (in addition to torpedoes) and if it used those missiles on the Isreali sites, that might well have triggered WWIII. I have to question the veracity of that part of his story; there well might have been an attack boat in the area, but a boomer, no. And if a boomer was intended to be employed, it wouldn't have to be in the region, or even the Med.

[Patrick Lang]

Jake

You get it. Intelligence is about information. Don't confuse intelligence with covert action. Every country needs information with which to make decisions. Information is needed about allies as well as adversaries. To think anything else is naive. pl

[Fred]

"Israeli commander warned Defense Minister Dayan of the collapse of Israeli forces. Israel rushed to arm 13 Jericho intermediate range missiles armed with nuclear warheads."

Isreal was ready to make this a nuclear war? What were the targets? What would the death toll have been then?

[Roy G]

Today's Israeli spy incident comes from Akamai Technologies; one of their people got caught trying to sell technology information to - according to the major news sources - 'country X.'

http://www.itworld.com/legal/123209/would-be-akamai-spy-busted-feds

A quick google search indicated that 'country X' was indeed Israel – confirmed by the Jerusalem Post.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=190523

According to the JPost, Mr. Doxer wanted to 'to help our homeland and our war against our enemies.' And he certainly wasn't talking about the US, because he wrote this to someone whom he thought was a representative of Israel, but was really the FBI, setting him up for the sting.

[J]

Colonel,

It's like you say, spying is the great game of nations, BUT when it (Israel's Pollard's espionage) spills over into grave-risk and death (American & Foreign assets killed) to the American citizenry and nation's ability to survive, it ceases to be a 'game'. Israel stepped over that line. And for that I'm eternally mad as hell at them for it.

[Eric Dönges]

Just to get my 2 Eurocents worth in - spying on your ally to figure out what he is up to is perfectly natural; anyone not doing this is a fool. But selling secrets thus obtained to a third party hostile to your ally is treachery. (Intentionally attacking an allies' assets is of course also treachery). With "friends" like that, who needs enemies ?

[confusedponderer]

oofda,
iirc Polaris armed SSBN were stationed in the Mediterranean before longer range missiles allowed them to hide in deeper waters.

[Jane]

kao_hsien_chih,

Exactly. Both countries judged by one standard.

Agreed that what counts is what the ally does with the information they have.

So, hypothetically, what if your ally informs your enemy of the time you plan to attack?