Pages 68, 72

Books

The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel’s Deadly 1967 Attack on a U.S. Spy Ship

By James Scott, Simon & Schuster, Inc., hardcover, 384 pages, index, source notes, bibliography, photographs. List:$27; AET:$22.

Reviewed by James M. Ennes, Jr.

FORTY-TWO years have passed since Israeli air and naval forces deliberately attacked a friendly American naval vessel in international water, killing 34 and wounding more than 170, then lied about it. This reviewer was an officer on the bridge for several hours before and during the attack and is the author of the only other widely accepted definitive account of the event (Assault on the Liberty, 1980, Random House).

Within hours of the attack, Liberty crewmen were warned never to reveal the circumstances to press, family or anyone else, under threat of court martial and prison. Even today, many survivors have never told the story. Some suffer from PTSD as a result of the enforced silence. It was in violation of that constraint that I wrote my book, fully expecting at any moment to be visited by men in suits with handcuffs.

Because of those warnings, which were repeated regularly over the next several years after the attack, I was compelled to be especially cautious with my research. All inquiries had to be made quietly. Requests for Navy and government files had to be sent in the names of others, and for that I often enlisted the support of my good friend and fellow Liberty officer, John Scott, who had received a Silver Star medal for heroism. Whenever I needed a ship’s log or other official information, I wrote a letter (a Freedom of Information Act or “FOIA” request) for John to send in his name on my behalf. With Johnhelp, I researched the story and wrote the book on evenings and weekends. Finally, when the book was published in 1980, it was hailed as a “Notable Naval Book” by the Naval Institute, named “Editor’s Choice” in TheWashington Post and featured in People Magazine, among other things. Meanwhile, I waited anxiously for the men with handcuffs to appear at my door.

To my pleasure and surprise, instead of trial and imprisonment, I received a personal telephone call from former JCS Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer praising the book and offering to review and support it. Next came a call from the iconic WWII hero Admiral Arleigh Burke, inviting me to his home. The men in suits never appeared and the book continues to sell 30 years later, despite constant abuse from critics who insist that Israel would never knowingly attack its American friends.

Meanwhile, John Scott’s son James, who grew up with my book on his childhood bookshelf and eventually became a prize-winning professional journalist (see sidebar), began to question his father and others about what happened to USS Liberty. With the passage of time, the National Security Agency released some, but far from all, of the related files. Meanwhile, more senior administration officials who had never before spoken out agreed to be interviewed by the younger Scott.

As a result of his original, in-depth research, Scott reveals in his book for the first time the inner workings of the cover-up at the highest levels of both the U.S. and Israeli governments. Here we learn clearly that the Israeli pilots recognized the ship as American early in the attack, reported to their headquarters that the ship was American, and continued to attack long after the pilots and their controllers were all aware that the target was American. After the air attack, the naval attack continued from very close range for nearly another hour despite an oversize American flag and ship’s markings identifying the ship as American. Intercepted messages show absolutely that the attackers knew they were killing Americans, yet the attack continued undeterred.

That the attack was deliberate was soon known to the highest levels of the U.S. government, including President Lyndon Johnson, who personally ordered it covered up. The U.S. did confront the Israeli government with this knowledge, even while covering it up in-house, and demanded punishment of those responsible.

Survivors complained bitterly about the whitewash and have petitioned Congress endlessly for an honest look at the circumstances of the attack, but to no avail. The facts were covered up for purely political reasons.

Scott’s solid research documents the heated discussions, even within the Israeli government, insisting that the situation called for punishment of those responsible. Israel had been caught red-handed, knew the jig was up, and was prepared to admit responsibility and send some scapegoats to prison. But in the end, the influence of certain Israeli supporters in key positions within the U.S. administration, and the distractions of the Vietnam War, overcame truth and justice for Americans and assured protection for the Israelis responsible. The Liberty story was pushed aside and soon vanished even from most newspaper accounts. Today, few Americans have ever heard of the USS Liberty.

Yet, despite the certain knowledge at the highest levels that the attack was deliberate, and despite dozens of statements over the years from senior U.S. officials recognizing the attack as deliberate, the “official” cover-up remained. In the face of certain evidence and numerous damning remarks by individual top level officials, the U.S. has clung doggedly to its false official claim that no evidence proves Israeli culpability. With this book, that has changed forever. James Scott provides the evidence.

Scott breaks new ground with never before breakthrough interviews with Johnson aides Harold Saunders, UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach and others. He reveals for the first time the activities and influence of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Associate Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas and many more, and the fruit of dozens of interviews with survivors and other insiders, many of whom have never spoken out before. His research included a trip to Israel and a private meeting with the Israeli pilot who led the air attack but who still clings to the official version.

This is not a polemic, nor is it speculative; it is a carefully measured account of everything that happened and how it was covered up. Author Scott takes great pains to avoid opinion and accusation. He gives us a measured and careful look at what happened to the USS Liberty. He tells what was happening within both governments during the attack and the motivations and forces behind the resulting cover-up. His work includes 55 pages of single-spaced source notes documenting every material fact in the book. Critics will be hard pressed to find fault.

No reasonable person can read this book and still regard Israel as a loyal ally of the United States. Had these facts been known years earlier, the American relationship with Israel might be very different from what it is today. America might be less tolerant of Israeli land grabs, illegal settlements, Israeli spying, mistreatment of Palestinians, “accidental” bombings of U.N. troops, “accidental” shootings of children and newsmen, the “accidental” killing of Rachel Corrie and other outrages—all supported by the American taxpayer and usually explained away as “tragic accidents.”

As former Secretary of State (1961-69) Dean Rusk put it: “The attack was and remains a genuine outrage.”

James M. Ennes, an officer on the USS Liberty during the 1967 Israeli attack, is the author of Assault on the Liberty, available from the AET Book Club.

SIDEBAR

James Scott is an award-winning writer and former reporter and investigative journalist with the Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier. Scott has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq and tsunami-devastated Indonesia, and has worked as well in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a recipient of the McClatchy Company President’s Award and was named 2003 Journalist of the Year by the South Carolina Press Association. Wofford College honored Scott as its 2005 Young Alumnus of the Year. From 2006-2007 he was a Nieman Fellow for Journalism at Harvard University. He lives with his wife and daughter in Charleston, SC. His Web site, with a summary of the book, sample chapter and photos is <www.jamesmscott.com>.—J.M.E.

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