| Author | Message | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 3:43 pm Post subject: USS LIBERTY VETERAN ASSOC FILES WAR CRIMES AGAINST ISRAEL |
| USS LIBERTY VETERAN ASSOC FILES WAR CRIMES CHARGES AGAINST ISRAEL
> Date: 6/5/2005 6:18:55 AM
> Subject: [LVA-Private] Cat's Out of the Bag
>
> From the web site at:
> http://aams.blogspot.com/
> -------------------------
>
> Friday, June 03, 2005
>
> USS LIBERTY VETERAN'S ASSN ANNOUNCES WAR CRIMES
> CHARGES FILED AGAINST ISRAEL
>
> (Washington, DC) - Friday, June 10 at 1:00 pm, Hotel Washington,
> 515 15th.St NW, Washington Room 11th floor (hit R for roof in
> elevator),
>
> Moe Shafer, board member of the USS Liberty Veterans Association
> and Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, USN, Ret., Former Judge
> Advocate General of the Navy who was involved with the initial
> Court of Inquiry investigating the attack in 1967 will present
> details of the "Report of War Crimes" brief filed on behalf of
> the USS Liberty Veteran’s Association concerning the 1967
> Israeli attack on the USS Liberty.
>
> The "Report" was filed with by James R. Gotcher, General Legal
> Counsel, USS - LVA, with the Secretary of Defense at the
> Pentagon on June 8, the 38th anniversary of the attack on the
> USS Liberty.
>
> For a complete copy of the brief go to to
>
> http://www.usslibertyinquiry.com/Report/Report.pdf
> for a PDF version of the Report, or
>
> http://www.usslibertyinquiry.com/Report/Report.htm
> for an HTML version of the Report.
>
> By establishing prima facie evidence that Israel committed war
> crimes the Secretary of Defense under existing Dept. Of Defense
> directives is obligated to initiate an inquiry into the
> commission of war crimes, an investigation that should have been
> carried out 38 years ago. Gotcher was an Air Force intelligence
> officer in Vietnam in 1967 and is one of three intelligence
> officers who were in different parts of the world at the time.
> Independent of each other they signed sworn affidavits that they
> saw intelligence messages saying the USS Liberty was under
> attack by Israeli aircraft in the Mediterranean. Moe was a 3rd
> class communications technician on the USS Liberty and survivor
> of a torpedo attack that killed 25 of his ship mates in the part
> of the ship where he was stationed.
>
> Captain Ward Boston, a JAG (Naval Legal) Officer involved with
> the initial inquiry and retired FBI agent examined the original
> copy of the Court of Inquiry record released under the Freedom
> of Information Act and declared it a fraud. "It is not the
> record I certified and submitted in 1967," says Captain Boston.
> Lloyd Painter, Officer of the Deck on the USS Liberty and
> retired secret service agent of 24 years testified that his
> statement mentioned in the report, "that the Israeli torpedo
> boat crews machine gunned the USS Liberty inflatable life boats"
> was removed from the final report that was submitted in 1967.
>
> Immediately following the press conference there will be a panel
> discussion at the Washington Moderator Gary Powers, Jr.
>
> Panelists:
>
> * Joseph Lentini - Will present a brief history of the ship and
> the attack; recent events re. political and military issues and
> what is wrong with the Israeli story as it has evolved over the
> years.He is a career Public Servant, presently a GS-14 level
> staff member of the Environmental Protection Agency. Recently
> honored by the Navy and the National Security Agency (NSA) for
> training efforts related to establishment of a Cryptologic
> Military History Program. He was a crew member of the USS
> Liberty and wounded during the attack.
>
> * Ken Halliwell - Will analyze the gun camera photos and
> illustrate why they are fraudulent. Semi-retired
> telecommunications and information systems engineer. He worked
> for ATT & Lucent Technologies for 15 years. Former
> Communications Technician with Naval Security Group 1968 - 1974.
>
> * Ernie Gallo - Will cover the following topics: Ward Boston's
> affidavit which identifies the beginning of a cover up Recently
> declassified cable from McCain to SECNAV The Jan 04 State Dept
> Discussion Panel Current FOIA researchCompleted a 30 year career
> with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Following his CIA
> career worked GTE, TriCorps, and British Aerospace Enterprises.
> He is a member of: the Elks; Veterans of Foreign Wars; Naval
> Cryptographic Veterans Association; and the Cold War Veterans.
> Served on the USS Liberty during the attack.The USS Liberty
> Veterans Association are hosting their 38th reunion in DC. There
> will be a memorial service on June 8th at Arlington National
> Cemetery where 11 crew members are buried; a meeting of the crew
> on June 10th ; Memorial Plaque Dedication at the US Navy
> Memorial on June 11th followed by a banquet on the evening of
> the 11th.
>
> For More Information Call
> For Immediate Release
> Gary Brummett
> President, USS Liberty Veterans Association
> 318-464-0496 cell
> 318-858-2258 H
> Garywbrummett@aol.com
> Direct line to Washington Room, June 10
> 202-638-5900 ext 3142
> www.ussliberty.org
> - 30 -
> GW Associates702 S. BeechSyracuse, NY
> 13210315-476-3396pwirth@accucom.nethttp://come.to/public.interes
> t.media
>
> posted by Ray @ 7:55 AM
>
> (Probably Ray Hanania)
> John
> ==== | |  | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:41 pm Post subject: bump |
| bump
Last edited by Alpha on Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:12 am; edited 1 time in total | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:49 pm Post subject: |
| Forwarded:
On Monday, June 6, 2005, the attorney for the USS
Liberty Veterans
Association will file a report with the Department of
Defense detailing
the war crimes the Israelis committed during their
June 8, 1967 attack
on the USS Liberty.
According to the directive that governs the submission
of the report the
Department of Defense is required to conduct an
investigation. If they
do not, we have recourse.
A copy of the press release is at
http://www.ussliberty.org/report/pressrelease.pdf
A copy of the report in PDF format is at
http://www.ussliberty.org/report/report.pdf
A copy of the report in HTML format is at
http://ussliberty.org/report/report.htm
We would appreciate it if you could help us publicize
this report as
widely as possibly by submitting our press release to
local newspapers
and news outlets.
Thanks in advance.
Warmest regards,
Joe Meadors
USS Liberty Survivor
http://www.ussliberty.com | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:00 am Post subject: George Washington's Farewell Address/Passionate Attachment |
| "So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a
variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion
of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists,
and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a
participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate
inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite
nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the
nation making the concessions by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have
been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to
retaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld . . .
"Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe
me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly
awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the
most baneful foes of republican government . . . Excessive partiality for one
foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate
to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of
influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the
favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes
usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.
" . . . nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate
antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others
should be excluded, and that in place of them just and amicable feelings
toward all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges toward another an
habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a
slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to
lead it astray from its duty and its interest."
-- President George Washington
Farewell Address
September 26, 1796
Todays Holy Wars News:
http://www.antiwar.com | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:49 pm Post subject: Remembering the USS Liberty |
| http://www.the-leader.com/articles/2005/06/06/local_news/local02.txt
Local News
Remembering the USS Liberty
Ship came under attack 38 years ago
By Bryce T. Hoffman
Campbell | Daniel B. Wood remembers that it was hot and clear on the deck of the USS Liberty that day in June 1967.
Bare-chested sailors were sunbathing, smoking cigarettes and looking out over the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli reconnaissance planes had buzzed overhead for hours, sometimes within a few hundred feet of the Liberty. No one thought much of it. Israel was an ally.
"We were more or less relaxing," Wood said. "It wasn't long after that when all hell broke loose."
Wood, 58, is one of more than 250 sailors who survived a sneak attack that Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats carried out against the virtually unarmed USS Liberty 38 years ago Wednesday.
He recalls it started around 2 p.m. with a jolt and a scraping noise, like the ship running aground.
"We looked at each other - 'What the devil was that?'" Wood recalled.
In a heartbeat, they realized it was fighter jets strafing the deck with machine gun fire and rockets. Caught off guard, men scrambled to their battle stations, unsure who was attacking them or for what reason, Wood said.
The intelligence-gathering ship was in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula keeping an eye on the fourth day of the Six Day War between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
"All we knew is we were under attack and being hit hard," Wood said. "Everybody was frantically trying to get inside and out of the line of fire."
Wood mustered below deck with a firefighting crew and waited. Above his head, the attackers were dropping napalm on his shipmates. The Liberty's four 50-caliber machine guns could not repel the onslaught.
The United States Sixth Fleet was nearby with two aircraft carriers. A distress call went out. American jets were 15 minutes away. For reasons Wood doesn't understand to this day, the Navy recalled its fighters and left the Liberty defenseless.
Torpedo boats put a salvo in the water. One hit, blasting a huge hole in the ship's communications center. Normally, that was the work station where Wood took Morse code from intercepted communications.
Some 25 crew members were there destroying classified documents and equipment to keep it from falling into enemy hands. Wood believes they were "blown to bits" on impact. The area was sealed off to keep the ship afloat. It would later be Wood's task to retrieve their bodies.
"It was a spy ship," he said. "I know we weren't welcome."
The captain ordered the crew to prepare to abandon ship. Life rafts went into the water - and were machine-gunned by the Israelis.
"We figured we were done," Wood remembered. "We were dead ducks."
The attack broke off abruptly 75 minutes after it began. The Liberty was badly damaged but not sunk. Wood was bruised and cut but otherwise OK. He remembers little of the days that followed while his ship was escorted to Malta for repair.
"We were told never to talk about the incident, never ever," he said. "This was by high-ups in the military."
Officially, Israel said the attack was a mistake. They believed the American ship was Egyptian. Congress has never investigated despite numerous requests by Liberty survivors who believe the assault was intentional.
"With the marking on our ship, there was no mistaking who we were," Wood said.
Wood, who was 20 at the time of the attack, finished his time in the Navy at a base in Germany and returned to Campbell. He now works as an equipment operator for Knight Settlement Sand & Gravel.
He tried to forget what happened, but it would not go away.
"I had nightmares," he said. "I drank heavy for years. I just wanted to leave it alone and forget about it, but you can't. You can't ever forget about something like that. It will be with me until the day I die."
Wood will go to the USS Liberty reunion in Washington, D.C., later this week. He has not seen most of his shipmates since the incident. He holds out hope that someday, the truth about the attack will be revealed.
"I hope for the sake of the 34 guys that lost their lives that someday the truth will be out in the open," he said. | | | | Alpha | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
