weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) (03/14/86)
In article <3350@sun.uucp> cramer@sun.UUCP (Sam Cramer) writes: >In article <159@dione.rice.EDU> salex@dione.UUCP (Scott Alexander) writes: >> However, I think the Liberty incident shows that the Israelis are >>willing to attack without due provocation. In this episode (during LBJs >>term---1968 perhaps), the Israelis sank the US intelligence ship Liberty in >>international waters during the Six Day War. This action occurred after >>watching it for several hours. Afterwards, the Israelis claimed to have >>mistaken it for an Egyptian ship of approximately half the length of the >>Liberty. > >The Liberty was sunk in 1967, during the Six Day war, which took place during >June of that year. > >Considering that a war was underway, and that the ship (according to accounts) >could have been confused with an Egyptian Navy vessel, how can one reasonably >conclude that "the Israelis are willing to attack without due provocation"? The Israelis did NOT confuse the American ship with an Egyptian ship. They are not that stupid. The ship was sitting there, spying on Israel. The only danger the ship posed was that the US might get more information on the Syrian side of the war than Israel wanted the US to have. The UNITED STATES, mind you. Calling the attack unprovoked is the only reasonable conclusion. ucbvax!brahms!weemba Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
jho@ihlpa.UUCP (Yosi Hoshen) (03/17/86)
> The Israelis did NOT confuse the American ship with an Egyptian ship. They > are not that stupid. The ship was sitting there, spying on Israel. The only > danger the ship posed was that the US might get more information on the Syrian > side of the war than Israel wanted the US to have. The UNITED STATES, mind > you. Calling the attack unprovoked is the only reasonable conclusion. > During the 1967 war, the air force that inflicted the greatest casualties on Israeli troops, was not an Arab air-force. It was the Israeli air-force. Scores of Israeli soldier were killed and wounded in such attacks. I doubt if anyone would accuse Israel of deliberately attacking its own troops. A war is usually characterized by confusion. This was especially true for the 1967 war which was very swift. It is quite probable that those who fired on the Liberty suspected the ship to be hostile. Contrary to what the above posting suggest, I would think that it would be very stupid for Israel to deliberately attack an American ship for any reason. -- Yosi Hoshen, AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville, Illinois, Mail: ihnp4!ihlpa!jho
hijab@cad.UUCP (Raif Hijab) (03/19/86)
In article <1198@ihlpa.UUCP>, jho@ihlpa.UUCP (Yosi Hoshen) writes: >I would think that it would be very stupid for Israel to deliberately >attack an American ship for any reason. > > -- Let me quote some comments about Ennes's book "Assault on the Liberty," which gives damning evidence that Israel deliberately attacked the Liberty, knowing it was an American ship, "Ennes has done his homework well. His facts are well documented and his clarity of writing brings them together in a totally readable fashion ... an important book." -U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings "A disquieting story of Navy bungling, government cover-up and Israeli duplicity that is well worth reading. And remembering." -The Atlanta Journal "Admiral Thomas L. Moorer (Ret.) applauds Ennes' activities and still wants an investigation. He scoffs at the mistaken identity theory. ... Asked why the Johnson administration ordered the cover-up, Moorer is blunt:'The clampdown was not actually for security reasons but for domestic political reasons." -from "They Dare to Speak Out" by ex-Congressman Paul Findley