USS Liberty: draft article
January 2nd, 2009 From
>X-Sender: jim@mail.halcyon.com
>X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.1 (32)
>Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 13:50:13 -0700
>To: mike.potter@artecon.com, mahan@microwrks.com
>From: Jim Ennes
>Subject: Re: USS Liberty: draft article
>Precendence: bulk
>Sender: mahan-owner@microworks.net
>
>At 10:02 AM 5/30/97 -0700, you wrote:
>
> >In =Assault on the Liberty= Jim Ennes hypothesized that Israel attempted
> >to “dispatch” her so that she could not discover the plan to take the
> >Golan Heights.
>
>Actually, that theory is not mine. It comes from intelligence agencies,
>has been mentioned often by JCS Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer,
>and I believe by others.
>
> >Since communications interception is passive, Israel
> >could be sure that =Liberty= was deaf only after her antennas were
> >submerged.
>
>Or disabled. It was obvious to us that they targeted out antennas
>from the beginning. Examination of damage photos shows that the
>antennas received concentrated fire. I was the ship’s EMO and
>almost immediately started getting reports from my people that
>ALL of the antennas had been destroyed by missile fire from the
>aircraft. One of my ETs ran a cable from an antenna across the
>deck to the transmitter room allowing us to send our call for
>help. Without that, we would not have gotten any messages
>off at all.
>
> >But Israeli forces ended their attack before that point.
> >Either (a) after initial misjudgment, Dayan changed his mind in
> >mid-stream about the need to dispatch =Liberty=; or (b) someone of great
> >personal or political authority, perhaps his boss, prime minister Levi
> >Eshkol, interceded to stop him.
>
>We believe they stopped the attack after our call for help was
>answered by USS Saratoga reporting that “Help is on the Way”.
>
> >In either case, why cover it up today? Israel no longer asserts (if it
> >ever did) that it seized the Golan Heights as an immediate defensive
> >operation in 1967. And why is the U.S. Government still reluctant to
> >investigate the attack?
>
>Members of Congress fear the wrath of the Israeli Lobby.
>Defying Israel is a sure ticket out of Congressional office.
>
> >Israel must be protecting something extremely vital to it today. I
> >suggest it is Israels nuclear strategy. In 1967 Israel was already
> >building nuclear weapons, partially for deterrence and partially as
> >weapons to punish the world should Israel face imminent destruction.
> >This is what Seymour Hersch in his book of the title calls “the Sampson
> >option:” punish the world by nuclear terror. Since it remains Israels
> >current strategy, Israel has a vital interest in concealing its
> >strategic decision process – especially since the strategy is deluded
> >and operationally severely flawed. The fact that it is a long-standing
> >strategy does not make it wise, tenable, or realistic.
>
>I think it is just knee jerk defense. They have been lying about this
>for so long that they don’t know how to tell the truth.
> >
> >Why the US role in the cover-up of the =Liberty= incident?
>
>Perhaps any inquiry would also probe the failure of the US to
>defend the ship.
> >
> >Today: For many politicians, exploring the =Liberty= incident would
> >jeopardize contributions from bipartisan pro-Israel lobbyists.
>
>Exactly.
>
>Jim