Here's a list of undisputed facts from the Libery crew. You might take note of the statements on Judge Cristal. You can also note the LPOS has indicated on multiple occasions the crew of the Liberty is "sincere".
The following sixteen facts, prepared and presented by an
experienced prosecuting attorney, are undisputed:
1. At all times on June 8, 1967, during the fourth day of the Arab-Israeli "Six Day War," USS Liberty, a neutral ship, remained in international waters.
2. USS Liberty carried no offensive armament and only four .50 cal. machine guns as a defense against boarders.
3. On the morning of June 8, 1967 USS Liberty was over flown by Israeli reconnaissance aircraft, and POSITIVELY identified by an Israeli pilot not just as a U.S. Navy ship, but as USS Liberty specifically.
4. The Hague Convention on Naval Warfare prohibits attacks on neutral ships on the high seas.
5. The government of Israel stated that they ordered ships and aircraft to the location of USS Liberty because they had received reports that IDF forces on the shore were being shelled from the sea.
6. The Israeli motor torpedo boats (MTBs) claimed to have detected USS Liberty on their radar initially at a distance of approximately 28 miles. The maximum range of the MTB radar units was just 16 miles.
7. The MTBs calculated the speed of USS Liberty initially at 30 knots and then a few minutes later at 28 knots. The maximum speed of USS Liberty was 20 knots, and the ship was at that time barely making way at five knots.
8. The Israeli aircraft, which should have been looking for a ship with offensive armament with sufficient range to bombard the shore 15 miles away and traveling at high speed, instead found a converted cargo ship, with no offensive armament, and moving at approximately
five knots.
9. USS Liberty presented no obvious offensive threat, nor was she attempting to flee the scene. Indeed, US sailors were sunbathing on the deck.
10. Prior to the start of the attack (1358 local time), USS Liberty - still in international waters - was never positively identified as a hostile ship.
11. Rather than wait for the MTBs to arrive and positively ID the ship, the aircraft launched an attack on USS Liberty.
12. The pilots of the attacking aircraft claimed that they were unable to see the 5' by 8' red, white, and blue US flag flying approximately 100 feet above the bridge of the ship, yet one of the pilots stated that he saw a .50 cal machine gun, painted gray, on the deck.
13. The Israelis claim that the aircraft finally saw a U.S. flag on Liberty at approximately 1422 and they called off the attack.
14. At 1436, the MTBs launched a torpedo attack on USS Liberty, launching five torpedoes, one of which hit USS Liberty amidships, killing 25 men.
15. The MTBs continued to circle USS Liberty, firing on the ship until at least 1510, when they claim that they saw Liberty's US flag for the first time.
16. The Israeli attack was broken off almost immediately following an unencrypted broadcast by USS Saratoga that she had launched aircraft to come to the aid of Liberty.
The Israeli government has never explained why it was necessary to attack an unthreatening ship on the high seas without waiting a few more minutes until their surface ships arrived to positively identify it. This was a gross violation of the laws of war. There is simply no rational explanation for the attack having been anything other than
planned and deliberate.
Reference was made to Mr. Cristol's website www.libertyincident.com. When visiting this site, please keep in mind that while Mr. Cristol traveled to Israel 15 times to interview IDF personnel, he had only brief conversations with a few USS Liberty survivors. He has claimed to have interviewed quite a few individuals who dispute that they were ever interviewed by Cristol. The facts alleged on Cristol's website are often contradictory.
One of the individuals who disputes ever having been interviewed by Cristol about the attack on USS Liberty, is Captain Ward Boston, the JAG officer for the court of inquiry. He has recently broken his silence on this subject. In a recent published interview, Captain
Boston contradicted Cristol's claims of comments attributed to Admiral Isaac Kidd and stated that Kidd has opined to him that he thought that Cristol was "an Israeli agent."
Also bear in mind Cristol's somewhat misleading biography, which suggests that he was a combat pilot during the Korean war (he wasn't).
ussliberty.org |
