2005 USS LIBERTY ESSAY CONTEST WINNER

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Luke Sanders
Burlington-Edison High School
Burlington, Washington

I am Persuaded that the Attack on USS Liberty was Deliberate
Lies and Death in the Name of International Politics:
The USS Liberty

Persuasively Composed by Luke Sanders

“Hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong,
and to make use of it or not according to necessity.”
         -from The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli

The Congressional Medal of Honor is bestowed only upon the most valiant members of the United States military, and only for their most valiant actions. It is a shame the country who gives this award would hide the reasons for giving the medal to a man, and move the ceremonies conveniently away from the White House. It would be a disaster if, while struggling to save his crew, the very people the brave Medal of Honor recipient was fighting should be insulted by the United States. Captain William McGonagle was awarded the medal for his actions on the day the USS Liberty was attacked and torpedoed, and 34 sailors died.

Sadly, these are some of the events surrounding the 8 June, 1967 attack of the United States Intelligence Ship Liberty by air and naval forces of the State of Israel. At 1400 local time, the USS Liberty was approached by Mirage jets of the Israeli Air Force, was circled, and flown over for identification. Official Israeli reports suggest the ship was flying no flag and a clear identification could not be ascertained. The United States is still in possession of the flag flown that day, and it lies at the National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Mead, Maryland. Fighter pilot Yiftah Spector claims his aircraft carried no air-to-ground ordinance, and that Liberty flew no flag. He claimed he took a picture to prove there was no flag. However, Israeli Air Force reports the pictures came from gun camera film, which only comes on when the guns are fired, and there is some evidence supporting the “gun-camera” pictures are fabricated from still shots of Liberty pulling into port.

It is important to realize Israel was in the midst of the Six Day war that it fought against the Arab states. The Israeli ships at this time had a large white cross painted on the deck. Even though the Liberty was attacked in International waters, it is assumed the Israelis must have mistaken the ship for an Arab ship. After all, any ship found near El Arish on the Sinai coast must have been Arab, and attempting to shell Israeli positions. Spector reports seeing no white cross on the deck of what he now knows as Liberty, and so was automatically concerned with it being an enemy. Why were they concerned? Israeli troops were executing around 1,000 Arab prisoners in El Arish, and were trying very hard for the United Nations not to find out. The official Israeli report claims the Liberty was mistaken for the Arab El Quseir, but it had long since been retired, and could easily be distinguished from the Liberty, especially at strafing distance. The Mirages were close enough for the use of rockets, 30mm cannon, and even napalm canisters, but chose to ignore the American Flag and obvious high-tech equipment the ship was carrying.

More death and destruction started when the Israeli torpedo boats were called in. According to American crewmembers, the boats opened fire immediately, seeking no identification, and ignoring the large Star - Spangled Banner waving in the clear blue Mediterranean sky. The flag and U.S. markings were so conveniently ignored, in fact, the Official Israeli report marks “the actions of the “Liberty” itself were also a contributing factor to the mistaken attack.” But if the Liberty and her Captain were at fault, and not using the proper identification, then why was disciplinary action not taken against him? If Captain McGonagle was at fault for not flying the flag of his country, why did he receive the Congressional Medal of Honor? The message is clear: the United States knows the Israelis attacked deliberately, and their reports are fabricated lies, but took no action to prove as much.

After the torpedo boats shot a torpedo into the starboard side of the ship, killing 25 of the eventual 34, they continued to pick off and machine gun any movement, carefully laying fire over Liberty for nearly two hours. For those two hours, the boats were at a range close enough to effectively use machine guns, and they could still not identify the ship as American. There is obviously something deeper here, a reason for not discontinuing the attack: the event was purposeful, deliberate, and premeditated by the Israeli Defense Force. The Israelis could not have an American intelligence gathering ship close enough to catch wind of their executions, or their preemptive strikes on Arab soil, and so the strike was covertly ordered. A United States Navy Court of Inquiry took up investigation, but even their findings were shrouded in controversy, with speculations of forged log books and certain crewmen not being allowed to testify.

The evidence of the attack is not nearly as incriminating as the evidence of the cover-up. Is it worse the Israelis would deliberately attack a United States vessel, or that the Government of the United States took no action but to ask for compensation for families and damages? America has gone to war over lesser issues than this, but it is apparent the political ties between America and Israel were too vital during this time to be severed. The United States was supporting the Israeli forces against the Arab States, and the Mediterranean location of Israel was critical to intelligence on the Soviet force in the sea at the time. The Cold War mentality of the United States needed a Western-thinking partner in the Middle-East, a close ally to keep watch on the communist forces which could take root in the area.

The close family and ideological ties to the U.S. should not be forgotten either. America fought for the creation of the Israeli state in the United Nations, and the Zionist movement had many roots in America. The Religious freedoms and high Jewish populations in the U.S. prompted the use of kid gloves by American politicians to think about Jewish voters, or even voters sympathetic to Israel’s hand in the Six Day War. Even today, Israel is a Western culture nested in between Islamic states, a refuge for American sympathy in a hostile area. But the continued political unification of the U.S.A. and Israel does not excuse the criminally negligent or even intentional attacks of the Israelis on Liberty.

The injustice continued with Captain McGonagle. The court of inquiry found no fault in him or his crew. He had done all he could to save his ship and as many of his men as possible, and his country could not ignore that. Captain William McGonagle was given the Congressional Medal of Honor. But he was not given the normal ceremony of such an award. He received his honor quietly aside at the Washington Navy Yard, where it was sure not to attract the attention of the White House Press, or the Israeli lobbyists. At least the recognitions of the Captain’s actions and the ship’s eventual Presidential Unit Citation serve as a small slice of justice in an incredibly unjust quagmire.

The United States still holds its official positions, despite the arguments of top government officials to the perniciousness of the Israelis. The Israelis attacked Liberty out of fear of the international community condemning their war. The United States avoided accusing Israel of a deliberate attack or even criminal negligence to save political ties and avoid political hot water at home. Thirty-four of America’s finest lost their lives defending their ship, fighting under their flag. The United States paid the price for maintaining its ties with Israel: it paid that price in blood.