“DoD Owes Families, Nation Information on Niger Action” but NOT on USS Liberty Attack
If Americans Knew | November 2, 2017
On June 8, 1967 Israeli air and sea forces attacked a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Liberty, killing 34 crew members, wounding over 170, and fatally damaging the ship. For 50 years surviving crew members and families of the fallen have called for a full investigation of the attack – without success.
by Joe Meadors, USS Liberty Survivor
The USS Liberty was attacked on June 8, 1967. No investigation of the attack was conducted by the US government.
The USS Pueblo was attacked on January 23, 1968 – 229 days after the attack on the USS Liberty. The attack on the USS Pueblo was thoroughly investigated by the US government. No investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty has been conducted. No evidence that any investigation has been contemplated by anyone in the US government.
The Marine Barracks in Beirut were bombed on October 23, 1983 – 5,981 days after the attack on the USS Liberty. The bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut was thoroughly investigated by the US government. USS Liberty survivors are still waiting for word that an investigation on their ship is in the works by the US government.
The USS Stark was attacked on May 17, 1987 – 7,286 days after the attack on the USS Liberty. The attack on the USS Stark was thoroughly investigated by the US government. USS Liberty survivors are still waiting for an investigation of the attack on their ship.
The USS Cole was attacked on October 12, 2000 – 12,180 days after the attack on the USS Liberty. The attack on the USS Cole was thoroughly investigated by the US government. USS Liberty survivors are still waiting.
The Niger attack was on October 4, 2017 – 18,381 days after the attack on the USS Liberty. The Niger attack is currently being investigated by the US government. No investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty is on the horizon.
In a DoD Press Release Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joe Dunford tells us “The Defense Department owes the families of the soldiers lost in Niger and the American people an explanation of what the soldiers were doing in Niger and why it was important.”
Given its refusal to conduct an investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty the DoD obviously doesn’t feel the same about our families, the families of our fallen shipmates and those of us who survived the attack.
Below is an article that expands on this subject and provides a list of questions we’d like to have answered. By no means all of the questions on the table. Arguably not the most important questions.
I respectfully submit that the question on the top of the list is: Why has the US government refused to conduct an investigation of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty?
DOD Says truth on Niger more important than USS Liberty
“DoD Owes Families, Nation Information on Niger Action” but NOT on USS Liberty Attack
By Joe Meadors | Arab Daily News
Four Green Berets were Killed in Action in Niger. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, held a prolonged, public press conference which was covered by every news outlet in the US.
In a DoD Press Release Gen. Dunford tells us “The Defense Department owes the families of the soldiers lost in Niger and the American people an explanation of what the soldiers were doing in Niger and why it was important.”
Given its refusal to conduct an investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty the DoD obviously doesn’t feel the same about our families, the families of our fallen shipmates and those of us who survived the attack.
Not that we haven’t asked.
USS Liberty crew, ignored by U.S. politicians for 50 years.
For over 50 years USS Liberty survivors have been begging the Department of Defense to conduct an investigation of the attack on our ship.
The Department of Defense obviously doesn’t think the American people deserve to hear from American servicemen who:
- saw the unmarked aircraft as they attacked our ship;
- heard the jamming of our radios on both US Navy tactical and international maritime distress frequencies;
- witnessed the deliberate machine gunning of life rafts we had dropped over the side in anticipation of abandoning ship;
- witnessed the slow circling of our ship by Israeli torpedo boats as they fired from close range at crewmen who were either trapped topside or who ventured topside to help their wounded shipmates;
- saw the Israeli helicopters filled with armed assault troops hover very close to our ship in an apparent attempt to find a place to allow those troops to rappel down to the ship; and,
- witnessed the torpedo boats immediate departure from the scene of the attack after cessation of hostilities instead of offering assistance as is their obligation under international law.
What questions have we been asking? I’ll share with you questions a USS Liberty widow asked then-Senator John Warner. Not surprising that he refused to respond to her questions:
- Why didn’t the Sixth Fleet come to the aid of the Liberty?
- Why were the rescue aircraft called back by the President of the United States?
- What involvement did the 303 Committee have in the Liberty‘s deployment and mission?
- What did Project Cyanide have to do with the Liberty, directly or indirectly?
- What did Frontlet 615 have to do with the Liberty directly or indirectly?
- Why wasn’t the USS Amberjack allowed to come to the aid of the Liberty?
- Where is the film of the attack taken by the Amberjack?
- Why weren’t violations of the UCMJ investigated?
- Why were warning and operational messages to the Liberty intentionally mis-routed?
- Why was the crew told to keep silent regarding the attack?
- What secret is so volatile that cannot be revealed by our government after 50 years?
- Why haven’t clear violations of international law been investigated?
- Why was Admiral Tobin awarded the Bronze Star when he wasn’t even there?
- Why hasn’t our former ambassador to Lebanon, Dwight Porter, ever been questioned by Congress, when it is known he listened to the attack at our embassy in Lebanon?
- Why was Commander McGonagle awarded his Medal of Honor, our country’s highest honor, in the Navy Yard instead of in a ceremony conducted by the President at the White House?
These are just a sampling of the many questions that remain unanswered about the attack on our ship.
Questions that the Department of Defense will continue to ignore.
We are reaching out to everyone who believes that the attack on the USS Liberty should be treated exactly the same as the attacks on the USS Pueblo, USS Stark, USS Cole, as well as the 1982 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut and the death of the four Green Berets in Niger.
Help us persuade the US government to investigate the attack on our ship – including the War Crimes that were committed by and against the United States during that attack.
For further reading:
American Legion calls for full investigation into Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty
No comments yet.
Featured Video
Iran’s Next Strike May Not Explode. It Could Shut You Down
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archive
Zionism’s Violent Legacy
By Donald Neff | Washington Report On Middle East Affairs | January 1996
On January 4, 1948, Jewish terrorists drove a truck loaded with explosives into the center of the all Arab city of Jaffa and detonated it, killing 26 and wounding around 100 Palestinian men, women and children.[1] The attack was the work of the Irgun Zvai Leumi – the “National Military Organization,” also known by the Hebrew letters Etzel – the largest Jewish terrorist group in Palestine. The Irgun was headed by Revisionist Zionist Menachem Begin and had been killing and maiming Arabs, Britons and even Jews for the previous ten years in its efforts to establish a Jewish state.
This terror campaign meant that at the core of Revisionist Zionism there existed a philosophical embrace of violence. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Saudi oil boss issues global supply warning
- Riyadh Says Its Oil System Is Intact. The Numbers Say Otherwise.
- Trump and Netanyahu Want to “Finish the Job” on Iran
- US ‘one-sided dictation’ not Iran’s beliefs makes rational talks impossible: Baghaei
- Iran’s Next Strike May Not Explode. It Could Shut You Down /Col Doug Macgregor
- Iran: US political targets legitimate if assassinations return
- Iraq shuts key border crossing with Iran under US pressure: Report
- Undersea Internet cables could be targeted in retaliation for attacks on Iran: IRGC deputy chief
- EU sending ‘biased’ observers to interfere in Serbian election – president
- White House envoy declares kinetic action against Yemen ‘fruitless’
- If Americans Knew
- Trump’s Intensifying Sabotage of the ICC, for Israel’s Sake
- Israeli military detain US and UK volunteers in West Bank including Democratic NY politician Brad Lander
- Americans at National Conservatism Conference held in Israel this year criticize Israel
- Christiane Amanpour exits CNN with a legacy shaped by the debate over Israel
- Israel’s war on Iran is the final move in a decades-old strategy
- Israel Denies Entry to French Journalist, U.S. Researcher Amid Rise in Entry Denials
- Gaza’s hospitals are running out of life-saving fuel – Daily Update
- Mysterious bot accounts reportedly spread fake ‘man on the street’ videos for Michigan Senate candidate
- Israeli Defense Minister Katz Says Over 60 Lebanon Villages Have Been Destroyed
- Why Is Israel Running TV Ads in Iowa Ahead of the Midterms?
- No Tricks Zone
- E-Cars Reduce CO2 Emissions By Only 41% Compared To Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles
- Predictions Made By Renowned Climate Professor Over Past Decades Have Been Proven To Be Poor
- New Study Suggests Large Regions Of The Pacific Ocean Have Been Cooling For The Last 80 Years
- Germany’s Green Energy Debacle: High Energy Costs Force Kahla Porzellan to Close After 182 Years!
- New Study: 50 Years Of The Most Aggressive ‘Net Zero’ Policies Can Only Affect The Global Climate By 0.03°C
- US September “Heat” Was No Record…Many Records Set Decades Ago
- Latest European Green Energy Debacle; Portugal’s Largest Flagship Solar Park Insolvent!
- Green Energy Debacle: German Expert Professor Fritz Vahrenholt Warns Of Severe Economic And Social Consequences
- Two More Paleo Reconstructions Affirm Meters-Higher Sea Levels Across Ireland, Brazil 7000-6000 Years Ago
- New Study: Earth And Venus Surface Warmth Largely Explained By Convection And Lapse Rate, Not CO2 Or Radiation
Leave a Reply