Above: Pre-attack reconnaissance of the USS Liberty, 8 June 1967. Israel claims that the only aircraft near the US intelligence ship were high in the sky carrying troops to the front lines. Not so. This airplane is typical of eight separate daylight reconnaissance aircraft that circled the Liberty a total of thirteen times during the morning of the attack, often so low directly overhead that they rattled the deck plating, according to crewmen. Photo from USSLiberty.org.
During the Six Day War between Israel and the Arab States, the American intelligence ship USS Liberty was attacked for 75 minutes in international waters by Israeli aircraft and motor torpedo boats. Thirty-four men died and 172 were wounded.
The attack has been a matter of controversy ever since. Survivors and many key government officials including Secretary of State Dean Rusk and former JCS Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer say it was no accident.
Israel and its supporters insist it was a “tragic case of misidentification” and charge that the survivors are either lying or too emotionally involved to see the truth.
The most recent documentary, a 2001 production from the British Broadcasting Corporation is USS Liberty: Dead in the Water, now on sale in North America as a VHS tape (NTSC format) or DVD (for US/Canada).
According to Jim Ennes, retired career US Naval Officer and a survivor of the attack on the Liberty:
“This documentary was recently nominated for best documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival where it was widely acclaimed. It has been shown in much of Europe and in Canada though not yet in the United States.
The lead researcher for this project was noted author and journalist Peter Hounam whose new book on the Liberty, “Project Cyanide,” will soon be released in England.
USS Liberty: Dead in the Water reveals how the USS Liberty attack came very close to precipitating World War III. According to the film, US official knew in advance that the ship was going to be attacked and allowed it to happen for their own secret purposes. This is must-viewing for anyone who has followed the Liberty story.”
The BBC note on the documentary:
During the Six-Day War, Israel attacked and nearly sank the USS Liberty belonging to its closest ally, the USA. Thirty-four American servicemen were killed in the two-hour assault by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats. Israel claimed that the whole affair had been a tragic accident based on mistaken identification of the ship. The American government accepted the explanation.
For more than 30 years many people have disbelieved the official explanation but have been unable to rebut it convincingly. Now, Dead in the Water uses startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack. The film combines dramatic reconstruction of the events, with new access to former officers in the US and Israeli armed forces and intelligence services who have decided to give their own version of events.
Interviews include President Lyndon Johnson’s Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, former head of the Israeli navy Admiral Shlomo Errell and members of the USS Liberty crew.
Buy the USSLIBERTY: DEADINTHEWATER documentary now from Amazon.com in VHS (NTSC) or DVD (US/Canada) or by mail from the producers:
USSLIBERTYFRIENDS POB 373164
Satellite Beach, FL 32937
