A SPECIAL AMERICAN FREE PRESS REPORT ON A HEINOUS CRIME AGAINST AMERICA STILL CENSORED AFTER 36 YEARS

REMEMBER the USS Liberty

36 Years Ago . . .

ILLUSTRATION BY PIERRE MION FOR THE COVER OF THE BOOK ASSAULT ON THE LIBERTY BY JAMES ENNES JR.
the air and naval forces of the state of Israel con-
ducted a brutal three-hour attack on a barely-armed
U.S. intelligence vessel. The date was June 8, 1967.
Israeli jets strafed the ship; torpedo boats launched
their deadly projectiles at the stricken ship. The life
rafts were machine-gunned. “No survivors” was the
order from Israeli military officials. When the attack
was over, 34 U.S. sailors and Marines were dead and
171 gravely wounded.
“Mistaken identity,” Israel cried, as the U.S.
public was kept completely in the dark about the
incident. But the Liberty was easily identifiable that
clear day. Some of the Israeli pilots, seeing that the
ship was an American “ally” vessel, broke off their
strafing runs. They were ordered to renew their
deadly attacks. But Liberty would not go down. She
limped home listing badly to one side. Once they
returned from the hospital, surviving U.S. sailors
were threatened with court-martial if they talked of
the incident. The American mainstream press was
largely silent. President Lyndon Johnson had him-
self recalled the U.S. fighter jets dispatched to aid
the ship. And that too would need to be kept silent.
Now, 36 years later, the truth can no longer be
kept hidden. Why were U.S. government officials so
forgiving when all evidence told them the attack was
deliberate? Why no declaration of war? How was the
U.S. public denied access to information on the inci-
dent? How did Israel get away with this blatant war

Attack Kills 34, Almost Sinks U.S. Ship

crime? Find out.

Here’s a capsule overview of the action, assuming Egypt was responsible. Later, when
Admiral Burke shocking circumstances surrounding the
the president learned the Israelis were responsible, he
called off the alert.
Wonders ‘Why?’ murder of 34 Americans by the armed
forces of Israel in a terrorist attack that
Very little about the tragedy was mentioned in the
American press. What reports there were indicated it
Adm. Arleigh Burke was known as “Mr. was a “tragic mistake.” In addition, media accounts
Navy.” He served as chief of naval operations. few Americans know about. Tito Howard’s underestimated the number of the dead.
The high-tech modern U.S. Navy destroyers new film, Loss of Liberty, is the must-see Then, under the direction of Adm. John S.
were named the Arleigh E. Burke class of McCain, commander in chief of the U.S. Naval Forces in
“last word” documentary that tells all of Europe, a court of inquiry was conducted by Rear
destroyers in his honor. Burke has some pro-
vocative comments about the fate of the USS these details and more. Admiral I.C. Kidd. McCain and Kidd knew better, but
they still announced that the attack was “a case of mis-
Liberty:
By Michael Collins Piper taken identity.”
“I don’t know yet why we didn’t protect that (McCain’s cover-up for Israel’s slaughter of
ship. I don’t know why the Israelis would take n June 8, 1967, the USS Liberty, an American American Navy boys forged a unique tie between the
such terrific chances. It must have been some-
thing that was very important to them, to
decide to attack without considering the prob-
ability of war. Things like this don’t ‘happen.’
Things are ‘caused’ to happen.”
O naval vessel sailing in the Mediterranean, was
suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
and air forces of the state of Israel. The attack
took place in the middle of a sunny afternoon. The
American flag aboard the Liberty flapped clearly in the
McCain family and Israel, such that, today, McCain’s
son, John, the Republican senator from Arizona, is
Israel’s favorite Republican.)
The Liberty survivors were told to “shut up.”
Anyone who talked was threatened with court-martial.
breeze. Three unmarked Israeli aircraft, accompanied “If anyone asks,” the sailors were told, “tell them it was
by three torpedo boats, conducted the brutal assault. an accident.” The survivors were dispersed worldwide
The attack began with rockets and then continued so that no two men were sent to the same place.
BOOK EXPOSES LIBERTY ATTACK with napalm, a burning chemical that clings to human The incident was mentioned in passing in a vari-
In the 721-page book Body of Secrets, author skin with grisly results. Then the torpedo boats raked ety of media, but the first time that the whole shocking
the decks of the Liberty with machine-gun fire as the story was told to the public on a national scale was in
James Bamford, a well known investigative
American sailors tried to extinguish the fires started by The Spotlight on April 26, 1976.
journalist, authoritatively describes Israel’s However, as early as within one month after the
the napalm. The Liberty was then torpedoed not once,
attack on the USS Liberty as well as exposing but three times, but, miraculously, did not sink. Thirty- tragedy on July 15, 1967, The Washington Observer
the amazing secrets of the National Security four Americans died in the incident and 171 others were newsletter, published by individuals associated with
Agency, the largest, most secretive and most injured. Liberty Lobby, the Washington-based populist institu-
powerful intelligence agency in world history. When news of the attack reached the White tion, told readers that the Israeli attack on the
House, President Lyndon B. Johnson alerted the com- American vessel was indeed deliberate.
See the coupon on page B-4 to order this book.
mander of the Sixth Fleet to prepare for retaliatory (See NO WITNESSES, Page B-2)
 B-2 AMERICAN FREE PRESS June 23, 2003

No Witnesses Wanted Moorer Says ‘No More Cover-Up’

(Continued from Page B-1)
There is no question the Israelis not only intend- A distinguished admiral is leading the quency? There’s no question about the fact that the
ed to sink the Liberty but also to kill the entire crew so jamming of the Liberty’s frequency was deliberate and
that no living witnesses could emerge to point the finger
charge to set the record straight on the was undoubtedly ordered by high authorities.”
at the Israelis. The Israelis hoped to blame the Arabs for attack on the USS Liberty. MASSACRE COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED
the crime—a long-standing “false flag” technique used Had the U.S. aircraft not been recalled, says
by Israel in its numerous acts of terrorism. By the Staff of American Free Press Moorer, the large number of casualties caused by the
Defenders of Israel demand to know why the Israeli torpedo boats could have been stopped.
Israelis would desire the total destruction of the Liberty dm. Thomas Moorer, the longest-serving “I have spent a large part of my life flying over
and the mass murder of all aboard. The explanation is
simple: the Liberty was a spy ship—said to be then the
most sophisticated in the world—gathering intelligence
information that would have demonstrated that, con-
trary to Israel’s public propaganda line, Israel was seek-
A active four-star admiral in U.S. history, was
the only U.S. admiral to have commanded
both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. He was
head of NATO forces and served as chief of Naval
Operations and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
the oceans and identifying ships and this ship was
perhaps the easiest ship to identify that was listed in
the U.S. Navy, equipped with antennae from bow to
stern, pointing in every direction. It reminded one of a
large vigorous lobster and had a look that made it
ing to escalate the 1967 Six-Day War then in progress, for two terms. The Navy’s chief fighter, the F-14 extremely easy to recognize. So I will never, never buy
attempting to expand its territorial gains. It was plan- Tomcat, was named after “Tom” Moorer. the idea that the [Israeli] pilots thought this was some
ning an incursion into Arab territories in the West Bank Today, despite advancing age, Moorer remains other ship.
and the Gaza Strip and intended to invade Syria. Israel, in the forefront of the call for an inquiry into the “In the case of the Liberty, this is the first time,
not the Arab states, was the real aggressor in the war. attack on the Liberty. He is a hero to the Liberty’s sur- to my knowledge, where a U.S. warship has been
A Spotlight report of Nov. 21, 1977 implicated the vivors and, in truth, to an entire generation of attacked without warning and no action whatever was
CIA’s counterintelligence chief, James J. Angleton, in American sailors who recall his leadership. About the taken to investigate this situation on the part of the
having conspired with Israel in orchestrating the attack Liberty, Moorer has said: “If the Israelis thought the Congress. I have urged this over and over again and I
on the Liberty. An Israeli loyalist who headed the CIA’s frequencies they jammed were broadcast by an still think that the attack on the Liberty warrants a
liaison with Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, and Egyptian ship, why did they jam the American fre- full-fledged investigation by Congress.” ★
who also played a key role in helping Israel develop its
nuclear arsenal (in defiance of President John F.
Kennedy), Angleton believed the destruction of the • The Israelis claimed that the Liberty was trav- • The Israelis claimed that the Liberty did not fly
Liberty could be used as a “Pearl Harbor” or “Remember eling at a high (and therefore “suspicious”) speed of 28 to an American flag or carry identifying insignia. In fact,
the Maine”-type incident to inflame American passions 30 knots. In fact, the ship was drifting along at only five not only did the Liberty have a U.S. flag flying in the
against the Arabs. knots. wind, but also after that flag was shot to pieces, anoth-
In 1983 a top secret report prepared in 1967 by the • The Israelis claimed that the Liberty refused to er and much larger flag was hoisted by the American
legal advisor to the U.S. secretary of state, was released identify itself. In fact, the only signals from the Israeli sailors when they realized they were under attack by
(without fanfare) for the first time. The report assessed torpedo boats came after the torpedo attack was ostensibly “friendly” forces from “our ally, Israel.” In
claims by Israel that the attack was a mistake. The launched, with the result that 25 sailors had already addition, the Liberty’s name and identification numbers
report demonstrated Israel’s claims to be lies: died when the Liberty was hit by an Israeli torpedo. were clearly displayed on the hull, which had just
recently been painted.
Medal of Honor Winners Want Inquiry According to Liberty survivors, the Israeli aircraft
had actually circled the ship no less than 13 times for
several hours before the attack commenced. Some of the
Into Massacre of Liberty’s Crewmen Liberty sailors even waved to the “friendly” Israelis from
the decks of the ship, not knowing they were being tar-
Among those who have lent their support It was clear that this was an American ship. The
geted for annihilation. ★
Israelis did this with their army, navy and air
to the call of USS Liberty survivors for a full- force. They [the Israelis] were getting our money to
fledged public inquiry into Israel’s attack on buy those French airplanes and they turned
around and attacked our ship when they could see Survivors Speak Out
the Liberty are some of America’s most dis- that it was our ship.
• Ernie Gallo: “The day before [the June 8
It’s absolutely uncalled for. This is something I’d
tinguished Medal of Honor winners. They like to see totally investigated and a closure of this attack] I was topside when Israeli planes came by,
issue because I think President Johnson was the and very close where we could wave to the pilots, and
agree that it is absolutely clear the Israelis villain on it. I think he recalled the people [who] they were that close where we could wave back.”
knew that their attack was aimed at an were [sent] to defend the ship.
• Rick Aimetti: “It was a very clear day. It was
American vessel. • Army Col. Lou Millett, who led the last bayonet
a warm day, the sun was shining brightly, a nice
breeze blowing, and I distinctly remember hearing
charge against Red Chinese forces in Korea, says:
By the Staff of American Free Press the [American] flag flapping in the wind.”
I was in World War II. I studied all the different • Phil Tourney: “There were approximately 13
• Col. Mitchell Paige, the last Marine standing types of aircraft; and when I shot at a plane, I made sorties of our ship from six o’clock until 12 o’clock in
after repulsing a Japanese regiment on Guadalcanal, sure I was shooting at the enemy and not ours. the afternoon. We had a general quarters drill that
says: They knew what those ships looked like; and if lasted 45 minutes or so.”
they don’t, I can’t conceive that they don’t know. I • Stan White: “I stepped out on deck, and a
We all know that this was in international do know this: It was a criminal act. It was an act of
war. plane came by, and I looked right in the cockpit. He
waters. It was an unprovoked and intentional
attack on a U.S. vessel, with one objective: to sink There should be a congressional committee— waved. I waved. That’s how close they were. They
it and kill all aboard. An unprovoked attack. I both Senate and House—to examine all of the data knew who we were.”
think it was dastardly. I think it was a betrayal of available; and it’s getting late to do this since, for • George Golden: “Of all the recon flights that
any friendship that we had with that nation. example, Capt. McGonagle, God bless his soul, is they had that morning, overlooking our ship for six
And I think it should be exposed to the entire gone.
to seven hours, they had a good idea of what they
world and all brought out so that the whole world
would know the actual truth about that particular • H.C. “Barney” Barnum, president of the were doing, and they hit us hard and fast with every-
day in 1967. I know that Capt. McGonagle was on Congressional Medal of Honor Society, says: thing they had.”
board the USS Liberty and the ship was off the • James Smith: “I was topside fighting fires
coast at Gaza, and yet our government put it in and doing other damage control work throughout the
writing, in a U.S. Senate book of Congressional As a Marine, I’m proud to say that three mem-
Medal of Honor recipients, that he received his bers of the Liberty crew were Marines. Two of them duration of the attack. At the same time I was able to
medal for action in Vietnam. To me that is one of died that day. Bryce Lockwood was decorated for observe the jets flying overhead, and I also observed
the worst cover-ups in American history. How low saving sailors’ lives. Bill McGonagle was skipper of the American flag flying from the mast. At no time
can our government go? the Liberty, and he was awarded the Medal of
Honor for action above and beyond the call of duty. did that flag hang limp from the mast.”
I firmly believe after review of the documenta- • Joe Meadors: “My only job during the attack
• Former Navy Master Chief Bob Bush, though
tion of this film [Loss of Liberty] that an in-depth, was to make sure that the flag was flying; so every
badly wounded in World War II, held off a Japanese honest investigation and inquiry into what really few minutes I would walk out to the signal bridge up
advance while saving his commanding officer’s life. happened that day is owed to the members of the at the mast.” ★
Bush says: crew, their families and all Americans. ★
 June 23, 2003 AMERICAN FREE PRESS B-3

Sailors Told to Forget Slaughter Talking about Loss of Liberty, the film by
Tito Howard, Richard Kiepfer, who was the
Survivors of Israel’s attack on the USS Rear Adm. Merlin Staring—who later became ship’s doctor aboard the Liberty, said:
judge advocate general of the Navy—was given less “This film should shock decent Americans
Liberty were told—under threat of court- than 24 hours to review the 60-page report of the board —above all, men and women who’ve
martial—not to tell the truth about the attack. of inquiry that was instituted to review the circum- served in the armed forces. It will shock,
stances surrounding the attack on the Liberty.
By the Staff of American Free Press particularly, as it was an attack not by ter-
Staring later told Tito Howard, producer of Attack
on Liberty: rorists implacably opposed to the U.S.,
as is the case of the USS Cole.”

“I
f you go ashore, remove your ship’s name from
In the course of my career as a Navy lawyer, I
your jersey.” That’s what Adm. Isaac Kidd told have been called upon to review and take action
the survivors of the Liberty when he met with
them after the attack. He told the men to go
ashore in civilian clothes that they weren’t even allowed
upon hundreds of investigations of various
degrees of importance and priority.
This is the only instance in which a record of
Ambassador Says
such an investigation has been withdrawn after I
to possess: “Don’t talk about it among yourselves, don’t
write your friends. When you get back home, don’t even
discuss it with your wife and family.”
had been asked to review it and had not been given
an opportunity to complete my advice . . . It’s a
voluminous document. One of the things that I ini-
USS Liberty Crew
Violation of these orders, they were told, could re-
sult in court-martial, imprisonment for violating na-
tially had difficulty with, and still do, is the fact
that the very first statement of fact that the court
arrived at and presented was this: “Available evi-
Was Abandoned
tional security—”or worse.” dence combines to indicate the attack on Liberty A former U.S. ambassador has de-
Survivor Phil Tourney recalls that, after the on June 8 was, in fact, a case of mistaken identity.”
attack, “When Adm. Kidd came aboard our ship to inter- nounced the U.S. government’s failure to
view the survivors, he got us in small groups of three, Journalist James Bamford notes that the official rescue Americans aboard the Liberty.
four or five sailors and he would ask us questions. The U.S. inquiry was described by the highest professional
first thing he did was take off his stars and lay them on at the National Security Agency as “a nice whitewash.” By the Staff of American Free Press
the table and say, ‘Listen. Open up to me. Talk to me Marshall Carter, who was NSA director, said that
just like I’m just one of you.’ So we did. he thought the attack on the Liberty was “deliberate” ames Akins, a career U.S. Foreign Service officer
“We trusted him. We opened up with our hearts
and told him how we felt, what happened, what we saw.
When that was done, he put his stars back on his lapel
and he ordered us not to say anything to anybody: our
families, our friends, our shipmates, anyone. If we did,
and that President Johnson wanted the ship to sink so
that Israel wouldn’t be embarrassed.

Strong Words from Rusk

★
J who served as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia,
among other top posts, has been one of the most
outspoken critics of the USS Liberty cover-up.
In Tito Howard’s landmark documentary, Loss of
Liberty, Akins said:
we faced the possibility of a court-martial, the peniten- Dean Rusk, who was serving as secretary of
tiary, or worse. And everyone knew what ‘worse’ meant. state in the LBJ administration at the time of George Ball, the brilliant and courageous
Actually, he scared the death out of me. I didn’t talk Israel’s attack on the Liberty, is among those who undersecretary of state at the time of the 1967 war,
about the attack with anyone for almost 20 years.” have strong words for Israel: wrote about the attack on the Liberty, subsequent-
“I never, myself, accepted the Israeli explana- ly. He said: “The ultimate lesson of the Liberty
On the day of the attack, at 2:35 p.m., Defense attack was that it had far more effect on policy in
Secretary Robert McNamara recalled the 12 Navy fight- tion. Accidents don’t occur through repeated
Israel than in America. Israel’s leaders concluded
ers that had been sent to the Liberty’s defense by the attacks by surface vessels and by aircraft. It obvi- that nothing they might do would offend the
carrier Saratoga. ously was a decision taken pretty high up on the Americans to the point of reprisal. If America’s
Josey Toth Linen, the sister of Stephen Toth who Israeli side, because it involved combined forces. leaders did not have the courage to punish Israel
The ship was flying an American flag. for the blatant murder of American citizens, it
died on the Liberty, notes: seemed clear that their American friends would let
“Worst of all is what our government is doing to “Even if it had been unidentified from an Israeli them get away with almost anything.”
cover this whole thing up. When I heard that President point of view, it was a reckless thing for them to do. The subsequent cover-up the Israelis main-
Johnson, in the heat of the battle, was telling Adm. Geis Suppose it had been a Soviet ship. That would have tained was that they thought [the ship was] the
caused very large problems indeed. small Egyptian freighter, the El Quseir, [but this] is
of the Sixth Fleet that he didn’t give a damn if every not credible. Not only was the Liberty flying a large
man drowned and the ship sinks. He said, ‘I don’t give a “I have never accepted the Israeli explanation,
American flag, but the Liberty was five times the
damn if every man drowns and the ship sinks. I don’t and, so far as I am concerned, the affair of the USS size of the El Quseir. Its profile was unique. It bore
want to embarrass our allies’—it makes you sort of won- Liberty remains a scar on the relations between no resemblance whatsoever to the Egyptian ship.
der, since they were unmarked planes, how he knew it Israel and the United States.” ★ In late 1991, Dwight Porter, who was ambassa-
dor to Lebanon during the 1967 war, told colum-
was our allies.” nists [Rowland] Evans and [Robert] Novak that
immediately after the attack on the Liberty, the

Sailors: Israel Committed War Crimes CIA station chief handed him intercepted mes-
sages between the Israeli war room and their
planes. The pilots were given orders to attack the
The American survivors of Israel’s bru- Therefore, Israel did indeed commit war crimes in ship, and they replied immediately that it was an
American ship. The Israeli headquarters respond-
the course of its unwarranted attack on the friendly
tal terrorist attack on the USS Liberty American vessel.
ed: “You have your orders. Attack the ship.” The
pilots tried once again: “But it’s an American ship.
have charged that the nature of the Survivor David Lewis adds: “Had [the ship] sunk, We can see its flag.” But headquarters insisted:
I assume that when debris washed ashore the next day, “You have your orders. Attack it.” And attack it
assault definitely constituted a war crime. they did, and the consequences are well known.
it would have been blamed on Egypt . . .Helicopter gun-
Evans and Novak got further confirmation of
ships, I’m sure, would have picked off survivors if we the Israeli attack from an American-born Israeli
urvivor Lloyd Painter recalls: “I personally wit- had abandoned ship. They were sent there to finish us

S
major, Seth Mintz, who was in the Israeli war room
nessed the machine-gunning of life rafts as they off. The aircraft were sent to make us incommunicado at the time of the attack. He told reporters,
floated by. The Israeli torpedo boat crew mem- so we couldn’t send an SOS out. The torpedo boats were “Everyone felt that it was an American ship and
that it was the Liberty. There were comments
bers raked the life rafts thoroughly with sent to sink us. about the marking and about the flag. Everybody
machine gun fire, making sure that if there had been “And the helicopters were sent to pick off sur- in the room was convinced it was an American
anyone in the liferafts that they would have not sur- vivors. It was a perfectly executed military operation. If ship.” Mintz told Evans and Novak that the Israelis
vived.” you look at the photographs of the Liberty after the were guilty of an outrage. True. But the American
Another survivor, Don Bocher, has pointed out attack, on the first strafing run they used heat-seeking suppression of the truth was an equal outrage.
If the planes dispatched by the Saratoga had
that plans to abandon the ship were called off because missiles that took out the tuning section of every trans- continued to the rescue, the Israelis would have
the life rafts had been shot up. In fact, shooting life rafts mitter on the ship. In less than two seconds they had been driven off. But Washington took the Israelis
on a ship in distress is a war crime. taken out all our communication capability.” at their word. They said they had recognized their
Josey Toth Linen, whose brother Stephen died on The ship’s captain, W. L. McGonagle echoed the error and they apologized and that the attack had
already stopped—they said. But they were lying.
the Liberty, also points out: “My brother was sent to the concerns of the other survivors: “It appeared from the The attack continued for another hour and 20 min-
bridge of the ship to find out who the planes were and ferocity of the attack that the intent of the attackers utes, during which 25 more American sailors died
where they came from. They had no markings. That’s was to sink the ship. Maybe they hoped to have no sur- and 110 more were wounded. All would have been
against the Geneva Rules of War right there . . . He was vivors so that they would not be held accountable for the spared if the American planes sent to help them
cut down by the planes.” attack after it occurred.” ★ had not been recalled by Washington. ★
 B-4 AMERICAN FREE PRESS June 23, 2003

REPRINTED FROM THE FIRST ISSUE EVER PUBLISHED OF AMERICAN FREE PRESS, AUGUST 20, 2001, PAGE 1. FEEL FREE TO PHOTOCOPY THIS
PAGE AND MAKE IT INTO A GREAT HANDOUT. GIVE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE! ORDER MORE COPIES OF THIS REPORT TOO.

Survivors of Brutal, Unprovoked Attack Vindicated!

The suppressed story of a brutal attack ed to prevent the U.S. government from knowing about recognized the Liberty as an American vessel and
the imminent Israeli move to conquer the Golan radioed that information to his headquarters, but was
on a U.S. surveillance ship by Israeli jetfight- Heights of Syria, or the massacre of more than 1,000 told to ignore the American flag and continue his attack.
ers and torpedo boats aired on the History captured Egyptian soldiers in El Arish, within eyesight He refused to do so and returned to base, where he was
of sailors on the Liberty. arrested.
Channel to the applause of survivors. According to eyewitnesses and film footage, the ini- Later, a dual-national American-Israeli major told
tial air attack lasted about 30 minutes, during which the survivors that he was in an Israeli war room where
EXCLUSIVE TO AMERICAN FREE PRESS
time the vessel was clearly flying an oversized he heard Even-Tov’s radio report. The attacking pilots
By Christopher Bollyn American flag. According to survivors, the ship had (two of whom are reportedly dual-national Americans)
been overflown by 13 Israeli reconnaissance sorties and everyone in the Israeli war room knew that they
he horrific details of the assault on the

T
during the morning. were attacking an American ship, the major said. He
American surveillance ship, USS Liberty, in The air assault was followed by an attack by three later recanted the statement after receiving threaten-
which 34 sailors were killed and 171 injured, Israeli torpedo boats that fired five torpedoes. Any one ing phone calls from Israeli officials.
were the subject of a recent History Channel of the torpedoes would have sent Liberty to the bottom “The Israelis definitely identified the ship as
program, Cover Up: Attack on the USS Liberty. had it not been for the action of Petty Officer Francis American and friendly,” Tourney said. “Our radios
The program presented an unflinching account of Brown, from Troy, N.Y., who took the helm, and under picked that up.”
the “sneak attack” by unmarked Israeli jets and torpe- the command of the badly wounded captain, maneu- Radio monitors as far away as Spain, Germany, and
do boats on the Liberty during the 1967 Israeli-Arab vered the ship to avoid four of the five torpedoes. One the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon picked up this transmis-
war. torpedo hit the ship leaving a 40-foot hole, but fortu- sion, which then-U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dwight
The History Channel program, which was ap- nately struck an I-beam, which prevented it from sink- Porter has confirmed. Unfortunately, the U.S. govern-
plauded by survivors of the attack as “excellent,” was ing the ship. ment has shown no interest in hearing these first-per-
jointly produced with CBS News as part of History Tourney said that Brown “deserves the Congres- son accounts.
Channel’s “History Undercover” series. sional Medal of Honor” for his heroic action that saved The pilot’s protests about the vessel being an Amer-
The year of the attack, the now-defunct Liberty Lob- hundreds of lives. ican ship were also picked up by a National Security
by was the only national voice of consequence to report “Francis didn’t flinch,” Tourney said. “The bridge was Agency (NSA) surveillance plane flying high overhead
on this attack by “our strategic ally.” full of blood; it was pure hell up there—I was fighting during the attack, according to James Bamford, author
The assault on Liberty began in broad daylight, the napalm fire. A 50-caliber round went right through of a recent book on the NSA, Body of Secrets.
shortly after lunch on June 8, with an air assault by “at the back of his neck. He died with his hands on the A new film, Loss of Liberty, produced by Tito Howard,
least 12 jets” that dropped napalm and left 870 rocket wheel. focuses on the undisclosed, dirty—and almost unknown
and cannon holes in the intelligence vessel. “They tried to murder us all,” Tourney said, “and —details of the attack on the Liberty. ★
Petty Officer Phil Tourney, who was on the ship at send the ship to the bottom.”
the time, told American Free Press that the initial Israel has always maintained that the attack was an
attack was meant to “soften us up” and “prepare the
ship to be sunk” by an imminent torpedo boat attack.
accident despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary,
including testimony from two of the Israeli pilots
Final Notes . . .
During the attack, the Israeli jets jammed the ship’s involved in the air assault, that the attack was inten- American Free Press newspaper (and before it
radar and knocked out the communications antennae. tional. The Spotlight) were the only newspapers in America
The pilots targeted the lifeboats and watertight doors The spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, Mark Regev, we know of to expose the facts about this brutal and
so as to ensure that the torpedo attack sank the vessel, told American Free Press that there is “no evidence” that wanton attack before the truth was aired on the
with “all hands lost,” according to Tourney. the attack was intentional. Discovery Channel more than 30 years after the
Only one SOS message reached the 6th Fleet’s Fifteen years after the incident, the senior Israeli
Saratoga, which launched aircraft to defend the Liber-
event.
lead pilot, named Amon Even-Tov, approached Liberty
ty. However, for some unknown reason these planes survivors and former Congressman Paul N. (Pete) Mc- For its coverage of this Israeli war crime,
were called back by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Closkey about his role in the attack, according to James American Free Press was branded “anti-Semitic” for
the defenseless Liberty was left to fend for herself. M. Ennes Jr., author of Assault on the Liberty. pointing out that the attack was perpetrated by
Experts have speculated that the attack was intend- Even-Tov told McCloskey that he had immediately Israel. To get a sample copy of American Free Press,
send $1 with your request to AFP, 1433 Penn-
Subscribe to AMERICAN FREE PRESS Newspaper Here! sylvania Avenue SE, Washington, D.C. 20003.
For a great video exposé—suppressed for a
❏ Sign me up for one year of American Free Press at $59—one (*Call 202-544-5977 for rates outside the United States) decade by high-level politicians and bureaucrats,
year of weekly issues (domestic U.S. price*). order Loss of Liberty: The Attack on the USS Liberty
Payment Option: ❏ Check/Money Order ❏ Visa ❏ MasterCard
❏ Sign me up for two years of American Free Press at $99—two by filmmaker Tito Howard. The film is about one
years of weekly issues (domestic U.S. price*). Card _________________________________________________
hour and contains eyewitness interviews and testi-
❏ Please send me _____ copies of Loss of Liberty. VHS, one hour, Expires ___________ Sig. _______________________________ mony. It has been called the best film ever produced
$30 each, item #1037.
Mailing Address: on the attack that many believe should have result-
❏ Please send me _____ copies of your special 4-page report ed in a declaration of war against Israel. The film is
Remember the USS Liberty. (One copy is $2; 6 copies are $4 and NAME _______________________________________________
40 or more bulk copies are 40¢ each.) $30. Get your copy by calling 1-888-699-NEWS
CITY ________________________________________________ (6397) toll free and telling the operator you want the
❏ Please send me _____ copies of Body of Secrets. Softcover,
721 pages, $19 each, item #286A. STATE, ZIP ____________________________________________ Liberty video. Charge to Visa or MasterCard. Order
extra copies to distribute to educate people to this
❏ Please send me information about becoming a distributor for
American Free Press. awful tragedy.
I ENCLOSE: $ ____________
❏ Please send me your most recent book and video sale list.
We also recommend the James Bamford book
mentioned above called Body of Secrets, It has a
SEND PAYMENT, CREDIT CARD INFO/MAKE CHECKS TO: THIS AREA FOR OFFICE AND DISTRIBUTOR USE ONLY
revealing chapter on the Liberty incident. (Soft-
American Free Press, 1433 Pennsylvania Avenue SE,
Washington, D.C. 20003 cover, 721 pages, $18 per copy. S&H included.)
OR CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDERING NUMBER:
Feel free to photocopy and hand out copies of
1-888-699-NEWS (6397) and charge your purchase to this special report. No copyright to encourage wide-
RTL603
Visa or MasterCard for even faster service. spread dissemination.