War Without End

Guest

From the December 30, 2002 edition of American Free Press:
---------------------------------------------------------

NEW BOOK CONTINUES LIBERTY COVER UP

Despite convincing, overwhelming evidence that the 1967
Israeli attack on the intelligence gathering vessel USS
LIBERTY was deliberate, there is a new effort to sell the
"mistaken identity" nonsense.

-------------

Exclusive to American Free Press
by Fred Lingel

-------------

There is a new but futile attempt to sell the idea of
"mistaken identity" in the Israeli attack on the USS LIBERTY
in 1967. Fortunately it's a flop. The mountain of evidence
that the attack, which killed 32 Americans and injured 172,
was a deliberate attempt to sink the ship and kill everybody
aboard has been covered up by the mainstream media for 35
years.
A. Jay Cristol, a former Navy aviator and federal judge
in Southern Florida, is trying to pedal his book THE LIBERTY
INCIDENT, which tries to argue "mistaken identity" but nobody's
buying. No major publication has reviewed his book since it
was published six weeks ago. His lectures are met with ques-
tions, especially among military personnel, who doubt the
"mistaken identity" argument.
Cristol spent 18 years as an aviator and 20 in the Navy's
Judge Advocate General Corps. He retired as a captain in the
U.S. Navy Reserve.
Cristol argues that Israel thought the LIBERTY was an
Egyption freighter about one-fifth its size, based on silhou-
ettes.
Tito Howard, who produced a documentary, THE LIBERTY
ALLIANCE, got an angry reaction from Cristol when he pointed
out that the attack came on a clear day and silhouettes are
used only at night for identifying ships. (Intercepted Israeli
communications also corroborate the fact that Israel knew who
they were attacking that day.)
"You may know a lot about television but you no know nothing
about ships," Cristol said in avoiding a response.
"The Israeli lobby is scared to death about the LIBERTY
affair," Howard said. He pointed out when Cristol lectured on
his book at the Navy Yard in Washington on Dec. 17, six
officials from the Israeli embassy were there to suppport him.
Yet at least half the questions were from those who doubt
the "mistaken identity" theory and he was forced to acknow-
ledge the views of Adm. Thomas Moorer and other ranking mili-
tary officers.
Cristol had a similar experience the following day when he
took his show to the Mideast Institute in Washington.
The Israeli lobby fears that if Americans become aware
that the attack was deliberate and officials covered it up
they would be so enraged that blank-check aid to Israel would
end.
Such aid amounts to at least $10 billion a year, although
the mainstream media sets the figure at $5.5 billion.
---------------

Guest · Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2002 10:45 pm Post subject: REMEMBER THE USS LIBERTY

For the truth on the USS Liberty, please access the following:

http://www.ussliberty.org

REMEMBER THE USS LIBERTY

This is in rememberance to our valiant American naval men who lost their precious lives in a brutal attack on the USS Liberty June 8,1967. Also, to the brave men who were wounded and kept the Liberty from sinking. Israel didn't expect such a formidable effort as our naval men showed them that day.

Israel Attack On USS Liberty
'No Accident' Says Helms

By Bryant Jordan Staff Writer
Marine Corps Times
From Navy Times
7-7-2

Thirty-five years after Israeli air and naval forces attacked a lightly armed U.S. Navy spy ship during the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, the CIA director at the time and the legal counsel to the Navy's court of inquiry say the attack was deliberate. "It was no accident," former CIA director Richard Helms said May 29, bucking that agency's June 13, 1967, report that indicated the incident could have been a mistake. Retired Navy legal counsel Capt. Ward Boston says he and the court's president, the late Rear Adm. Isaac "Ike" Kidd, always believed Israeli forces knowingly attacked the Liberty. "I feel the Israelis knew what they were doing. They knew they were shooting at a U.S. Navy ship," said Boston, who lives in Coronado, Calif. "That's the bottom line. I don't care how they tried to get out of it." The attack killed 34 men and wounded 172 others, and sparked a long-running controversy: Did Israel knowingly try to sink the American ship or did it believe the ship was an Egyptian vessel? Officially, the Navy exonerated Israel on June 18, 1967 - 10 days after the attack - when the Navy court of inquiry found that available evidence indicated the attack was a case of mistaken identity. THE COURT OF INQUIRY Boston said Kidd told him he believed the attack was deliberate and that the Israelis knew the ship was American. That flies in the face of the findings of Kidd's court, and also what the author of a new book on the Liberty says Kidd told him in interviews in the early 1990s. A. Jay Cristol, a federal judge in Florida and retired Navy aviator who also served in the service's Judge Advocate General's Corps, is the author of the upcoming "The Liberty Incident." "Kidd told me an entirely different story," said Cristol, whose new book is dedicated to Kidd, who died in 1999. Cristol said that during one interview with Kidd in December 1990, Kidd related that when he brought the court's report to then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. David Lamar McDonald, the CNO asked him, "Ike, was it intentional?" "Ike said, 'No, Admiral,'" Cristol recalled. But Boston remembers that when Kidd returned from Washington, he said officials were not interested in hearing the truth. "In military life, you accept the fact that if you're told to shut up, you shut up. We did what we were told," Boston said. He explained that he is willing to talk now because "everyone else is shooting their mouth off." Boston said he does not know whether his beliefs were shared by the other members of the court, Capts. Bert M. Atkinson Jr. and Bernard J. Lauff. Lauff could not be located for comment. Atkinson died in 1999. But Boston's statements do put him now in the camp of retired Adm. Merlin Staring, who as a captain and staff legal officer in London was initially told to review the court's report. Staring said June 3 that the report was taken from him before he finished his review, but based on what he had seen, the evidence did not support the contention that the attack was an accident. Staring concedes he still has not read the entire report. Staring, who went on to become the Navy's top JAG officer, is now part of a newly formed Liberty Alliance, which includes former CNO and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Thomas Moorer and two Marine Medal of Honor recipients, Gen. Ray Davis and Col. Mitchell Paige. The group wants a full congressional investigation into the attack and is lobbying military organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, hoping to garner support among their members, said Tito Howard, the group's executive director. SURVIVORS ALLEGE CONSPIRACY Many Liberty survivors and their supporters long have maintained that the attack was deliberate and that the Kidd report excluded testimony from crew members that would have shown that. Boston recalled that testimony was taken from crew members who said the Israelis fired on life rafts when they were put into the water. The court's report includes testimony indicating the shooting of the life rafts was incidental, occurring when the ship was strafed by Israeli jets. Some allege Israel wanted the spy ship sunk to ensure it did not pick up communications showing Israel was planning to seize the Golan Heights from Syria. Others say it was to prevent Liberty from intercepting communications dealing with an alleged Israeli massacre of Egyptian POWs in the Sinai. Some Liberty survivors and supporters claim the U.S. government covered up the incident to avoid a conflict with Israel that could have cost the Johnson administration support among Jewish voters and supporters. Subsequent administrations and Congresses have avoided a thorough airing of the incident for the same reasons, they say. But Cristol says there have been 10 U.S. investigations, ranging from the court of inquiry and the CIA's report to several conducted by House and Senate committees. Five drew no conclusions regarding Israel, according to a list compiled by Cristol, while others accepted that it was an accident. The most recent official look at the incident was in 1991, when the House Armed Services subcommittee on investigations found no evidence to support the Liberty survivors' claim that Israel attacked the ship deliberately. REPORTS AND RECOLLECTIONS The CIA's report, the earliest of those assembled, held open the possibility that the attack was a case of mistaken identity - the finding that the Kidd court went on to make five days later - though it did not present that as a conclusion. In the June 13, 1967, report, the CIA stated that "an overzealous pilot" could have mistaken the Liberty for an Egyptian ship, the El Quesir. Helms, the former CIA director, declined to discuss the incident at length. "I've done all I can. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in court" testifying about the incident, he said. Mike Weeks, a naval aviation writer and amateur historian who studied the official Navy communications that occurred during and after the attack and believes it was an accident, said there is more information on the Liberty still classified and believes the government should release all of it. "Just put it out there and see how it flows," he said. "The bottom line, all this stuff ought to be let loose, for heaven's sake." ___ Bryant Jordan is a staff writer for Marine Corps Times. Should Congress reopen the investigation into the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty? The Israelis claim the attack was a mistake; some veterans contend it was deliberate. As of 8:40 PDT Sunday, 67% say YES.

http://members.aol.com/w4lmk/sdari/

http://www.ussliberty.org

Body of Secrets
provides new Liberty revelations
http://www.ussliberty.org/margolis.txt

A report based on eyewitness accounts from the Israeli press
http://www.ussliberty.org/washrp96.txt

Liberty web sites by other USS Liberty crewmen
http://www.ussliberty.org/crewsite.htm

Memorials to our lost shipmates
http://www.ussliberty.org/memorial.txt

Awards and Medals
http://www.ussliberty.org/awards.htm

Annual Ceremony by No Greater Love
http://www.ussliberty.org/greater.htm

Did Israel commit one war crime to after another?
http://www.ussliberty.org/washrp96.txt

Statement by JCS Chairman Admiral Thomas H. Moorer
http://www.ussliberty.org/moorer3.txt

Charley Reese reviews new book about USS Liberty
http://www.ussliberty.org/reese.htm

New evidence on USS Liberty:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/10/31/new-evidence-on-uss-liberty.php
sc&start=20

US/UN Double Standard When It Comes to Israel
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/09/15/us-un-double-standard-when-it-comes-to-israel.php

War Without End :: View topic - VFW RESOLUTION DEMANDING ISRAELI USS LIBERTY INVESTIGATION:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/09/20/vfw-resolution-demanding-israeli-uss-liberty-investigation.php

AGTR-5

Sham Naval Court of Inquiry (into the USS Liberty Attack)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+_+_+

The Naval Court of Inquiry was a major event in 1967. And
Ward Boston was a major player in the Court. And now we find
out that the survivors were right, the court was a fraud and
a sham, with the outcome directed by the U.S. government.
I am puzzled why the media does not treat Ward Boston's words
for what they are worth! This is a huge story and should be
in every paper in the country. The USS Liberty attack was
covered up by the U.S. Government!

This is exactly how I feel as well.. Believe me as there definitely is some kind of conspiracy going on in the US media/press regarding the Liberty attack and ongoing cover-up because I contacted all the major press/media establishments (Washington Post, Fox News Channel, Associated Press, CNN, etc.) about that above referenced Navy Times article (with Captain Boston's comments conveying the cover-up), and not one has covered it to my info. We are talking about a 35 year cover-up and documents still clasified at the NSA which could potentially further reveal prrof of such... Look at what James Bamford (with his "Body of Secrets" book has already revealed by getting access to those NSA documents that he was able to get access to as there are others that are still classified (some 35 years later, but why as what are the Israeli and American governments stilling wanting to keep from getting out so many years later?).

AP Review of Cristol's Bogus Book ("The Liberty Incident"):

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A scorching review of A. Jay Cristol's "The Liberty Incident" was on the
Associated Press news wire August 2, 2002.

The review is reproduced below, but we do not know what newspapers actually printed it.

=======================================================
Friday, August 2, 2002
`Liberty' attack still a mystery

By DAVID SMYTH
Associated Press

On June 8, 1967, Israeli warplanes and gunboats almost destroyed but did
not sink the USS Liberty.

Even after 35 years, it seems nothing can douse the smoldering dispute
about that attack on the nearly defenseless U.S. intelligence-gathering
vessel. In fact, The Liberty Incident, by A. Jay Cristol, will probably fan
the flames of controversy.

Thirty-four Americans were killed and 172 wounded in the attack. At 69
percent of the crew, it was one of the highest casualty rates ever suffered
by a U.S. Navy vessel.

The focus of the dispute is: Was the attack accidental or intentional?
Israel claimed its forces had mistaken the Liberty for an Egyptian
horse-transport a few miles off the Egyptian coast during the 1967
Arab-Israeli war, and apologized. The Johnson administration accepted the
apology and did not formally challenge the explanation.

However, knowledgeable contemporaries have long claimed the attack was
deliberate. They include, among others, former Secretary of State Dean
Rusk; former CIA Director Richard Helms; former National Security
Administration Director Marshall Carter; one-time presidential advisers
George Ball and Lucius Battle; the Liberty's captain, Cmdr. William
McGonagle; and surviving crew members.

More recently, Capt. Ward Boston, legal counsel to the 1967 naval court of
inquiry presided over by Rear Adm. Isaac Kidd, has spoken up. On June 26,
Boston told a Navy Times reporter he and Kidd believed the Israelis knew
they were attacking an American ship. The court itself, an internal naval
review, did not address the matter of Israeli responsibility.

Curiously, Cristol, whose book is devoted wholeheartedly to the "clear
conclusion" the attack was accidental, there being "no competent evidence
to the contrary," has dedicated his work to Kidd. And he says Kidd told him
he always believed the Israeli attack was accidental. Kidd died in 1999, so
the discrepancy with Boston's statement remains unresolved.

Lt. Cmdr. James Ennes, the Liberty's deck officer during the attack and
author of the book Assault on the Liberty, says Kidd repeatedly encouraged
him to challenge claims of an accident. Cristol apparently interviewed very
few Liberty crew members. He cites no interviews with a dozen who say the
Liberty's life rafts were machine-gunned by the Israeli gunboats, nor with
others who say the Liberty was overflown by an Israeli helicopter filled
with armed men.

Cristol says he was given liberal access to Israeli officials and records,
thanks to Israeli navy friends. He reports an Israeli reconnaissance plane
identified the Liberty as an American ship eight hours before the attack
and Lt. Cmdr. Uri Meretz then specifically identified it as the Liberty. A
marker representing the ship was placed on the plotting table in the war room.

Five hours later - three hours before the attack - the marker was removed,
and this, it is alleged, led to the mistaken assault.

Cristol dismisses various possible motives for an intentional Israeli
attack. One was Israel's need to prevent American foreknowledge of its
impending invasion of Syria's Golan Heights, a move opposed by U.S. policy.
Another was the desire to cover up a massacre of Egyptian prisoners at El
Arish, a few miles from the Liberty.

Members of the Liberty Veterans Association have long complained none of the U.S. investigations was ever convened to discover whether the attack was deliberate. They note that even the initial Navy Court of Inquiry took no testimony from the crew about possible Israeli culpability, leaving that issue to Congress and the State Department, which ignored the question.

John Borne, in an academic study of the Liberty incident, points out that
this is the only peacetime attack on a U.S. Navy vessel that did not have a formal congressional investigation.

According to the Navy Times, a number of U.S. naval officers are requesting a congressional inquiry. Until this demand is met, and until all secret U.S. government files are released, the Liberty question will probably remain unanswered.

John Borne's Excellent Web Site (about USS Liberty)

http://www.logogo.net/00liberty.htm

VFW RESOLUTION DEMANDING ISRAELI USS LIBERTY
INVESTIGATION:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/09/20/vfw-resolution-demanding-israeli-uss-liberty-investigation.php

US/UN Double Standard When It Comes to Israel:

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/09/15/us-un-double-standard-when-it-comes-to-israel.php

Price of Support for Israel

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/17/the-price-of-israel.php

Passionate Attachment for Israel

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/24/passionate-attachment-to-israel.php

Coming War has Been Planned Years in Advance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2002/12/25/a-war-in-the-planning-for-four-years.php

Guest · Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 1:55 am Post subject:

Exclusive to American Free Press
by Fred Lingel

////////////////////////

Having the "American Free Press" oppose you is the surest sign that you're being successful.

Guest · Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 2:21 am Post subject:

Guest · Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 5:03 am Post subject: Taylor is a Zionist Lackey

Taylor is an Israeli lackey and is a traitor to America in believing the spin of Zionist Jews before what actually happened as conveyed by the patriotic Americans who witnessed Israeli treachery firsthand in the USS Liberty attack... Weeks, Taylor and Cristol show how allegiance to Israel is first priority for these supposed "Americans" (Israel-firsters rather).

For more about Taylor and how he "defends" Israeli treachery against America, access the following URL:

http://members.aol.com/w4lmk/sdari/

Guest

Subj: Americans for Middle East Understanding
Date: 12/26/02 8:01:12 PM Pacific Standard Time

Americans for Middle East Understanding
475 Riverside Drive, Room 245
New York, NY 10115-0245

Telephone 212 870-2053

email: AMEU@AOL.com

web site: http://www.ameu.org

has long been a solid friend of USS Liberty.

Over the years they have twice devoted most
of their monthly magazine THE LINK to the
story of the USS Liberty.

Now AMEU has updated and reprinted its
15 page booklet

THE USS LIBERTY
#34 in AMEU's Public Affairs Series

The booklet presents a chronology of the
USS Liberty attack and cover-up.

The booklet describes

An extended article on the attack by
James Ennes available on the AMEU website
at http://www.ameu.org

REMEMBER THE LIBERTY by John Borne,
at http://www.ameu.org

Assault on the Liberty by James Ennes

Body of Secrets by James Bamford

Loss of Liberty by Tito Howard

Death on the USS Liberty in the
Sept-Oct Vietnam Veterans Magazine
by William Triplett with an extended
quote from shipmate Larry Weaver.

Taking sides by Stephen Green

USS Liberty: Dissenting History
by John Borne

And reference to the USS Liberty web site
at http://www.ussliberty.org

The booklet is available from AMEU for $2.00
for single copies or reduced rate in bulk.

Inquire at ameu@aol.com

Guest · Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 8:50 am Post subject: Re: Taylor is a Zionist Lackey

*Mutt American · Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2002 8:01 pm Post subject:

And the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is...

Guest · Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2003 10:21 am Post subject: USS Liberty: Critique on Cristol

The following critique was prepared by Commander Tom Schaaf, USN (retired),
who was a pilot in USS America on June 8, 1967, and who attended the recent
Cristol presentation in Washington, DC.

=======================================================

Command Schaaf writes:

At noon on Tuesday, December 17, 2002, in the Washington Navy Yard Museum,
Captain Jay Cristol USNR (ret) was introduced at the monthly naval history
seminar to discuss his recent book "The Liberty Incident."

Captain Cristol had lengthy introductory remarks. He explained why he was
uniquely qualified to write this book (his background as a Naval aviator,
Navy lawyer, civil lawyer, and judge), the extent of his research, and the
vast number of interviews in the USA and Israel he conducted. He also
pointed out that most great writings of warfare are written by
non-combatants and that this is a history not a memoir. He also claimed
that there were as many conspiracy theories about the Liberty incident as
there were about the Kennedy assassination.

Inserted here is his recent press release.

========================================================

Conclusive New Findings on the 1967 Israeli Attack of the U.S.S. Liberty to
Be Revealed in Washington D.C. Tomorrow

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- During two addresses in Washington,
D.C. this week, Dr. A. Jay Cristol, the author of the critically-acclaimed
new book, "The Liberty Incident," will reveal conclusive new evidence about
what led to the 1967 Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty in which 34
Americans died and 171 were wounded during the Six-Day War.

The event is widely-regarded as the worst disaster in fifty years of
U.S.-Israeli relations, and remains as controversial today as it was 35
years ago.

Cristol's determination is based on the most extensive investigation
conducted to date, in which he used the Freedom of Information Act to
access classified documents, examined the complete files of all 13 U.S. and
Israeli official inquiries, made sixteen trips to Israel and three to
Egypt, and personally conducted over 500 interviews -- including with the
pilots of the attacking Israeli aircraft and commanders of the torpedo
boats, and Robert McNamara, Clark Clifford, Dean Rush, Admiral Isaac Kidd,
and all of the admirals and generals on both sides.

Foreign Affairs magazine has called "The Liberty Incident" "the definitive
book ... [that] ends the debate." Daniel Pipes in the Middle East Quarterly
wrote: "Cristol' research is stunningly complete ..." And Rear Admiral Paul
Tobin noted in Proceedings: "There is no doubt [Cristol] knows more about
this subject than anyone else who has written on it."

Cristol is a sitting federal judge and veteran Navy pilot who holds a Ph.D.
in international studies from the University of Miami. He served as Special
Assistant Attorney General of Florida during the 1959, 1961, 1963, and 1965
sessions of the Florida Legislature and continues to teach at the
University of Miami Law School.

CRISTOL'S ADDRESSES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ARE SCHEDULED AS FOLLOWS:

TOMORROW -- TUESDAY (12/17) Noon - 1 pm: The Navy Museum Educational Center
at the NAVY MUSEUM, Building 76, Washington Navy Yard. Call (202) 433-3940
for more information.

WEDNESDAY (12/18), noon - 1 pm: Boardman Room of THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE,
1761 N Street, NW. Call (202) 785-1141 for more information.

No reservations required; however, seating is limited.

"The Liberty Incident" by A. Jay Cristol (Brassey's, Inc.; 2002) is
available through Brassey's Military (800-775-2518),
www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com , and most bookstores.

=======================================================

Those reading the press release and not familiar with the tragic episode of
June 8, 1967, might think that Cristol was on to something most everyone
else had missed. Listed below are a few of the deceptions and errors in
that press release.

The only new finding in the book is Cristol's finding that it was an
"unfortunate accident."

The book has not been "critically acclaimed" except by a few well-known
Israeli apologists. Most reviewers have shunned the book because it is so
poorly written. It suffers from a bad case of discursive writing with its
rambling, digressive topics ranging from the USS Stark to Soviet merchant
ships attacked in North Vietnam. There is a chapter on "Television's
Perspective."

It describes casualties as "died," as if some sickness overcame 34 members
of the Liberty crew.

Many of his 500 interviews were shallow and pointless and had nothing to do
with the topic, was the attack planned or was it an accident. The Dean Rusk
interview (Rusk misspelled in the press release) conducted in 1989 makes no
mention of Rusk's adamant view that the attack was intentional and
authorized at a high level in the Israeli government. Cristol further
clouds the issue (and the interview commentary) by noting that George
Marshall and Dean Rusk both advised Truman in 1948 not to recognize the
State of Israel. (What does that have to do with the Liberty attack?)

Citing Foreign Affairs magazine and Daniel Pipes who credit the book with
stunning research is just what you would expect from those in the amen
corner of America's Israeli supporters. Most egregious, however, is to use
the name of Rear Admiral Paul Tobin USN (ret) to support his book when
Admiral Tobin has made it absolutely clear that he disagrees with Cristol's
conclusion that it was an unfortunate accident-mistake.

Finally, the term "veteran Navy pilot" is misleading and, I believe,
intentionally so. Cristol has an entire chapter on the air and sea attack
and would have the readers believe that he is knowledgeable about jet
attack operations and then tried to make the case that the Israeli pilots
were flying so fast they really had little time to identify the target. But
Cristol is not a jet pilot, his fleet experience (2 years) was in TBMs
(Turkeys) and AFs (Guardians), the slowest of the prop planes in the fleet.
His shore-based flight experience was in the T-28 prop trainer. He claims
to have flown the MIG-15, TA4, and F80, and I suspect those flights were
all in the back seat. In the reserves he flew transport aircraft. He has no
competence to analyze or discuss jet attack tactics.

Back to the Navy Yard

Cristol continued rambling on about his book, mentioning some of the famous
people he interviewed, and then started talking about what he claims were
erroneous reports about the recall of aircraft launched from America and
Saratoga. Cristol said (and he says it in the book) that LBJ and McNamara
could not have recalled those flights sent to defend Liberty because "in
1967 the US did not have the ability to make a secure radio-telephone link
from Washington to a ship in the Mediterranean." He is, of course, wrong,
but he has cleverly inserted the word "secure." No one said they were
"secure," but we have accounts from the captains of America and Saratoga to
confirm that the calls were made.

On page 192 Cristol defames Admiral Thomas Moorer. He also made that charge
during the Q and A period and inferred that Adm. Moorer was senile (those
who know Adm. Moorer know this is not so. He is just as sharp and critical
as he was when CNO and CJCS regarding the Israeli attacks on Liberty).

The myth of F-4B Phantom aircraft armed with nuclear weapons being launched
from the U.S. carriers, as described in the Ennes book (and supported by
Admiral Moorer), is an impossibility. In 1967 there were no U.S. Navy or
Marine F-4s configured and wired to carry nuclear weapons. Even if the F-4s
were so configured, Admiral Moorer should know that authorization for a
launch of nuclear-armed aircraft could only be issued by presidential
authority (and in some rare cases by theater commanders) and required three
to four hours of advance preparation. There is no record of such
authorization or launch.

[See note, below.]

The story of a submarine in the area working with Liberty propounded by
Pearson, Eveland, and Ennes is not supported by any record. The logs of the
submarines allegedly involved do not reflect such activity, and the
commanding officer of the submarine Amberjack denies the submarine was
there. The myth lingers on.

The launch of nucs and the submarine "myth" is typical of Cristol's method
of creating a straw man and then demolishing it with what I'm sure he
thinks is a devastating cross-examination. Since he is prosecutor and judge
in his book/PhD version, there is never an objection or different view.

To say that Cristol is disingenuous, in the submarine story for example, is
far too generous. Cristol must be hopelessly naive about submarine
operations if he believes an officer in the silent service is going to tell
him where his sub was or wasn't at any given time. In the case of the
Amberjack, which was involved in super secret operations including
periscope photography for which there is evidence that the sub was close by
Liberty during the attack, Cristol did not display any stunning research
activity.

In order to clear up a point of confusion which Cristol has exploited, it
is necessary to explain what was going on aboard America when the first
distress call from Liberty was received.

As the Sixth Fleet steamed toward the Eastern Med, readiness drills and
preparations were going on. America was conducting a load-out exercise with
war reserve weapons-the worst possible situation from which to respond to
the attack on Liberty. Capt. Engen immediately stopped the exercise (this
is a major complex drill involving aircraft, weapons, pilots, loading
teams, etc.) and ordered the weapons struck below, meanwhile reconfiguring
the aircraft and loading convention arms, Bullpup missiles, 20 mm, and
air-to-air missiles.

While this shift in weapons was taking place, the Saratoga launched a
twelve-plane strike group A4s, F4, and tankers. Remarkably the America was
able to launch a similar flight within an hour. When that launch commenced,
one of the crewmen thought he saw a plane catapulted with a nuc aboard and
later related this to Ennes who, relying on this fellow, put it in his
book. Ennes has since realized that, in the heat and excitement of an
emergency response launch with the noise and steam of the cats, someone saw
something he really thought was a MK61 or MK57 nuclear bomb. It no doubt
was a Bullpup which could easily be mistaken for a MK57 or MK61 bomb.
Admiral Moorer does indeed support Jim Ennes just as he supports all the
survivors of Liberty and the memory of those who were killed. As any
sensible person can easily understand that doesn't mean that everything in
the Ennes book is endorsed. But Cristol apparently thinks so.

[Editorial note: A number of different people from different vantage
points reported seeing nuclear weapons transported, loaded and launched
during the Liberty emergency. It was not a single source as related
here. One of those sources can be seen in the film "USS LIBERTY: Dead in
the Water". I do now believe, however, that Command Schaaf is probably
correct that what was seen was probably a bullpup missile, not a nuclear
bomb, although arguments remain on both sides and the jury is still
out. Adding to the confusion is the fact that a nuclear weapons handling
drill was actually underway at the very time that the attack
occurred. While Admiral Moorer has always supported the story told in
"Assault on the Liberty," he has always insisted that no nuclear weapons
were launched on June 8. That issue is central to the film, "USS LIBERTY:
Dead in the Water," and to the forthcoming book, "Operation Cyanide."]

Captain Engen was furious when he saw that particular statement in the
Ennes book and has one sentence about Cristol being a little more even
handed. How carefully Don Engen read the Cristol book is an open question,
but I would guess not too carefully since he misspelled Cristol's name in
that single sentence. I strongly recommend Vice Admiral Engen's book "Wings
& Warriors," the part about the Liberty is particularly interesting and as
Capt. Engen tells so movingly, the next morning as he slowly steamed
America by Liberty, dead in the water, he had the air officer on the 5MC
give three cheers for the Liberty crew-Hip-Hip-Hooray-Engen said it made
the hair stand up on the back of his neck. And just reading the book it
also made mine.

This has already become too long. The questions during the Q and A period
were generally hostile except for Norman Polmar who was sitting on the
front row next to Jay's wealthy wife who owns a TV station in Miami. Norman
asked Jay to describe how difficult it was for the jet pilots to aim their
rockets and cannon fire. Before he could answer, I asked what planes he had
flown, and it was then we found out he was a Turkey pilot.

This book proves nothing new but as Joe Meadors, a Liberty survivor,
pointed out ( and thanked Cristol) it gives new legs to the 35 year old
controversy.
Tom Schaaf USNA ' 53

For the truth about the treacherous Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, please access the following URL:

http://www.ussliberty.org

Guest · Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2003 8:45 pm Post subject:

In the earlier email version the indentation of two paragraphs from the
book did not print out properly making unclear that Cristol was the author
of some of the remarks. That matter is clarified here.

The following critique was prepared by Commander Tom Schaaf, USN (retired),
a former Navy carrier pilot who attended the recent Cristol presentation in
Washington, DC.

=======================================================

Command Schaaf writes:

At noon on Tuesday, December 17, 2002, in the Washington Navy Yard Museum,
Captain Jay Cristol USNR (ret) was introduced at the monthly naval history
seminar to discuss his recent book "The Liberty Incident."

Captain Cristol had lengthy introductory remarks. He explained why he was
uniquely qualified to write this book (his background as a Naval aviator,
Navy lawyer, civil lawyer, and judge), the extent of his research, and the
vast number of interviews in the USA and Israel he conducted. He also
pointed out that most great writings of warfare are written by
non-combatants and that this is a history not a memoir. He also claimed
that there were as many conspiracy theories about the Liberty incident as
there were about the Kennedy assassination.

Inserted here is Cristol's recent press release.

========================================================

Conclusive New Findings on the 1967 Israeli Attack of the U.S.S. Liberty to
Be Revealed in Washington D.C. Tomorrow

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- During two addresses in Washington,
D.C. this week, Dr. A. Jay Cristol, the author of the critically-acclaimed
new book, "The Liberty Incident," will reveal conclusive new evidence about
what led to the 1967 Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty in which 34
Americans died and 171 were wounded during the Six-Day War.

The event is widely-regarded as the worst disaster in fifty years of
U.S.-Israeli relations, and remains as controversial today as it was 35
years ago.

Cristol's determination is based on the most extensive investigation
conducted to date, in which he used the Freedom of Information Act to
access classified documents, examined the complete files of all 13 U.S. and
Israeli official inquiries, made sixteen trips to Israel and three to
Egypt, and personally conducted over 500 interviews -- including with the
pilots of the attacking Israeli aircraft and commanders of the torpedo
boats, and Robert McNamara, Clark Clifford, Dean Rush, Admiral Isaac Kidd,
and all of the admirals and generals on both sides.

Foreign Affairs magazine has called "The Liberty Incident" "the definitive
book ... [that] ends the debate." Daniel Pipes in the Middle East Quarterly
wrote: "Cristol' research is stunningly complete ..." And Rear Admiral Paul
Tobin noted in Proceedings: "There is no doubt [Cristol] knows more about
this subject than anyone else who has written on it."

Cristol is a sitting federal judge and veteran Navy pilot who holds a Ph.D.
in international studies from the University of Miami. He served as Special
Assistant Attorney General of Florida during the 1959, 1961, 1963, and 1965
sessions of the Florida Legislature and continues to teach at the
University of Miami Law School.

CRISTOL'S ADDRESSES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ARE SCHEDULED AS FOLLOWS:

TOMORROW -- TUESDAY (12/17) Noon - 1 pm: The Navy Museum Educational Center
at the NAVY MUSEUM, Building 76, Washington Navy Yard. Call (202) 433-3940
for more information.

WEDNESDAY (12/18), noon - 1 pm: Boardman Room of THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE,
1761 N Street, NW. Call (202) 785-1141 for more information.

No reservations required; however, seating is limited.

"The Liberty Incident" by A. Jay Cristol (Brassey's, Inc.; 2002) is
available through Brassey's Military (800-775-2518),
www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com , and most bookstores.

=======================================================

Those reading the press release and not familiar with the tragic episode of
June 8, 1967, might think that Cristol was on to something most everyone
else had missed. Listed below are a few of the deceptions and errors in
that press release.

The only new finding in the book is Cristol's finding that it was an
"unfortunate accident."

The book has not been "critically acclaimed" except by a few well-known
Israeli apologists. Most reviewers have shunned the book because it is so
poorly written. It suffers from a bad case of discursive writing with its
rambling, digressive topics ranging from the USS Stark to Soviet merchant
ships attacked in North Vietnam. There is a chapter on "Television's
Perspective."

It describes casualties as "died," as if some sickness overcame 34 members
of the Liberty crew.

Many of his 500 interviews were shallow and pointless and had nothing to do
with the topic, was the attack planned or was it an accident. The Dean Rusk
interview (Rusk misspelled in the press release) conducted in 1989 makes no
mention of Rusk's adamant view that the attack was intentional and
authorized at a high level in the Israeli government. Cristol further
clouds the issue (and the interview commentary) by noting that George
Marshall and Dean Rusk both advised Truman in 1948 not to recognize the
State of Israel. (What does that have to do with the Liberty attack?)

Citing Foreign Affairs magazine and Daniel Pipes who credit the book with
stunning research is just what you would expect from those in the amen
corner of America's Israeli supporters. Most egregious, however, is to use
the name of Rear Admiral Paul Tobin USN (ret) to support his book when
Admiral Tobin has made it absolutely clear that he disagrees with Cristol's
conclusion that it was an unfortunate accident-mistake.

Finally, the term "veteran Navy pilot" is misleading and, I believe,
intentionally so. Cristol has an entire chapter on the air and sea attack
and would have the readers believe that he is knowledgeable about jet
attack operations and then tried to make the case that the Israeli pilots
were flying so fast they really had little time to identify the target. But
Cristol is not a jet pilot, his fleet experience (2 years) was in TBMs
(Turkeys) and AFs (Guardians), the slowest of the prop planes in the fleet.
His shore-based flight experience was in the T-28 prop trainer. He claims
to have flown the MIG-15, TA4, and F80, and I suspect those flights were
all in the back seat. In the reserves he flew transport aircraft. He has no
competence to analyze or discuss jet attack tactics.

Back to the Navy Yard

Cristol continued rambling on about his book, mentioning some of the famous
people he interviewed, and then started talking about what he claims were
erroneous reports about the recall of aircraft launched from America and
Saratoga. Cristol said (and he says it in the book) that LBJ and McNamara
could not have recalled those flights sent to defend Liberty because "in
1967 the US did not have the ability to make a secure radio-telephone link
from Washington to a ship in the Mediterranean." He is, of course, wrong,
but he has cleverly inserted the word "secure." No one said they were
"secure," but we have accounts from the captains of America and Saratoga to
confirm that the calls were made.

On page 192 Cristol defames Admiral Thomas Moorer. He also made that charge
during the Q and A period and inferred that Adm. Moorer was senile (those
who know Adm. Moorer know this is not so. He is just as sharp and critical
as he was when CNO and CJCS regarding the Israeli attacks on Liberty).

Cristol writes: "The myth of F-4B Phantom aircraft armed with nuclear
weapons being launched from the U.S. carriers, as described in the Ennes
book (and supported by Admiral Moorer), is an impossibility. In 1967 there
were no U.S. Navy or Marine F-4s configured and wired to carry nuclear
weapons. Even if the F-4s were so configured, Admiral Moorer should know
that authorization for a launch of nuclear-armed aircraft could only be
issued by presidential authority (and in some rare cases by theater
commanders) and required three to four hours of advance preparation. There
is no record of such authorization or launch.

Cristol continues: "The story of a submarine in the area working with
Liberty propounded by Pearson, Eveland, and Ennes is not supported by any
record. The logs of the submarines allegedly involved do not reflect such
activity, and the commanding officer of the submarine Amberjack denies the
submarine was there. The myth lingers on."

The launch of nucs and the submarine "myth" is typical of Cristol's method
of creating a straw man and then demolishing it with what I'm sure he
thinks is a devastating cross-examination. Since he is prosecutor and judge
in his book/PhD version, there is never an objection or different view.

To say that Cristol is disingenuous, in the submarine story for example, is
far too generous. Cristol must be hopelessly naive about submarine
operations if he believes an officer in the silent service is going to tell
him where his sub was or wasn't at any given time. In the case of the
Amberjack, which was involved in super secret operations including
periscope photography for which there is evidence that the sub was close by
Liberty during the attack, Cristol did not display any stunning research
activity.

In order to clear up a point of confusion which Cristol has exploited, it
is necessary to explain what was going on aboard America when the first
distress call from Liberty was received.

As the Sixth Fleet steamed toward the Eastern Med, readiness drills and
preparations were going on. America was conducting a load-out exercise with
war reserve weapons--the worst possible situation from which to respond to
the attack on Liberty. Capt. Engen immediately stopped the exercise (this
is a major complex drill involving aircraft, weapons, pilots, loading
teams, etc.) and ordered the weapons struck below, meanwhile reconfiguring
the aircraft and loading convention arms, Bullpup missiles, 20 mm, and
air-to-air missiles.

While this shift in weapons was taking place, the Saratoga launched a
twelve-plane strike group A4s, F4, and tankers. Remarkably the America was
able to launch a similar flight within an hour. When that launch commenced,
one of the crewmen thought he saw a plane catapulted with a nuc aboard and
later related this to Ennes who, relying on this fellow, put it in his
book. Ennes has since realized that, in the heat and excitement of an
emergency response launch with the noise and steam of the cats, someone saw
something he really thought was a MK61 or MK57 nuclear bomb. It no doubt
was a Bullpup which could easily be mistaken for a MK57 or MK61 bomb.
Admiral Moorer does indeed support Jim Ennes just as he supports all the
survivors of Liberty and the memory of those who were killed. As any
sensible person can easily understand that doesn't mean that everything in
the Ennes book is endorsed. But Cristol apparently thinks so.

[Editorial note: A number of different people from different vantage
points reported seeing nuclear weapons transported, loaded and launched
during the Liberty emergency. It was not a single source as related
here. One of those sources can be seen in the film "USS LIBERTY: Dead in
the Water". I do now believe, however, that the reported weapon was
probably a bullpup missile, not a nuclear bomb, although arguments remain
on both sides and the jury is still out. Adding to the confusion is the
fact that a nuclear weapons handling drill was actually underway at the
very time that the attack occurred. While Admiral Moorer has always
supported the story told in "Assault on the Liberty," he has always
insisted that no nuclear weapons were launched on June 8. That issue is
central to the film, "USS LIBERTY: Dead in the Water," and to the
forthcoming book, "Operation Cyanide," soon to be released in England.]

Captain Engen was furious when he saw that particular statement in the
Ennes book and has one sentence about Cristol being a little more even
handed. How carefully Don Engen read the Cristol book is an open question,
but I would guess not too carefully since he misspelled Cristol's name in
that single sentence. I strongly recommend Vice Admiral Engen's book "Wings
& Warriors," the part about the Liberty is particularly interesting and as
Capt. Engen tells so movingly, the next morning as he slowly steamed
America by Liberty, dead in the water, he had the air officer on the 5MC
give three cheers for the Liberty crew-Hip-Hip-Hooray-Engen said it made
the hair stand up on the back of his neck. And just reading the book it
also made mine.

The questions during the Q and A period were generally hostile except for
Norman Polmar who was sitting on the front row next to Jay's wealthy wife
who owns a TV station in Miami. Norman asked Jay to describe how difficult
it was for the jet pilots to aim their rockets and cannon fire. Before he
could answer, I asked what planes he had flown, and it was then we found
out he was a Turkey pilot.

This book proves nothing new but as Joe Meadors, a Liberty survivor,
pointed out (and thanked Cristol) it gives new legs to the 35 year old
controversy.

Tom Schaaf USNA ' 53

War Without End

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