Say what? II
three hours before the attack occurred, Israeli Navy Headquarters was made aware of the Liberty's presence, including exact name, ship type, and hull number.
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the pilots of the attacking planes were at fault for failing to make positive identification of the Liberty before attacking the ship. Though the pilots testified to the contrary, every official interview of numerous Liberty crewmen gave consistent evidence that indeed the Liberty was flying an American flag - and, further, the weather conditions were ideal to ensure its easy observance and identification. [emphasis mine]
These circumstance - prior identification of the Liberty and easy visibility of the American flag - prompted the Department of State to inform the Israeli government that
the later military attack by Israeli aircraft is quite literally incomprehensible. As a minimum, the attack must be condemned as an actof military recklessness reflecting wanton disregard of human life.
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The final error was the identification of the Liberty as the Egyptian supply ship El-Kasir. The fact that two separate torpedo boat commanders made the same false identification only raises the question of veracity [emphasis mine] of both commanders. The El-Kasir was approximately one-quarter of Liberty's tonnage, about one-half its length, and offered a radically different silhouette. To claim that the El-Kasir closely resembled the Liberty was most illogical [emphasis mine].
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When NSA's Deputy Director read the decision of the Israeli Defence Forces Preliminary Inquiry, he summed up his personal feelings by calling it "a nice whitewash".
HEY, ALBERT! DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT, WHEN THE US WAS ASKED WHETHER IT HAD ANY SHIPS IN THE AREA, IT SAID "NO"?
three hours before the attack occurred, Israeli Navy Headquarters was made aware of the Liberty's presence, including exact name, ship type, and hull number. |
