當年美國的好朋友以色列攻擊美國科研船的往事

當年美國的好朋友以色列攻擊美國科研船的往事


最近俄武裝船隻在公海擊沉在塞拉利昂注冊的中國貨船新星號。由於
俄方的濫用暴力和新星輪船主和船長的不可告人的私下操作造成多名
中國船員的傷亡。

由此我們可以看到在海上的活動(諸如航行、貿易、科研、國際合作
等)仍有許多安全因素要認真考慮。在此我們不妨回顧一下當年美國
的好朋友以色列攻擊美國科研船“自由”號的往事。

1967年6月8日，在經過仔細觀察後，以色列的戰機和魚雷艇攻擊了美
國的科研船“自由號”，近距離持續射擊達40分鍾，造成美方34死、
171傷的惡性事件。

事發之後，以色列聲稱是誤會。美國高層私下並不相信以色列的解釋，
而且有相當多的證據證明以色列是在知情的背景下向美方的船隻和人
員發起攻擊的。

但是為了“民主”“自由”的“大局”，為了使美國在中東的朋友以
色列能安心，美國高層指示其海軍不讓劫後餘生者出來證明以色列方
麵是在知道這是美國船隻的情況下故意發動攻擊的，而且把已經寫入
檔案的相關資料抽走，以免造成更多的“麻煩”。

最後，美國和以色列的官方扭捏向世人宣稱，以色列攻擊美國船隻和
人員的事件是一個“悲劇性的事故”。

美國民間仍時有呼聲要求其政府公布真相，美國政府則一直假裝沒聽
見這些聲音，並稱該事件已然“了結”，盡管民間的呼聲被當局所漠
視，但其中反映出的事實卻使我們清楚地看到這樣一個現象：

在維護其戰略利益時，美國永遠是冷酷、無情和堅決的。

下麵的參考資料是美國民間人士於1993年所寫，文中反映了美國高層
對於當年惡性事件的掩蓋。

The Assault on the USS Liberty Still Covered Up After 26 Years

By James M. Ennes Jr.

Twenty-six years have passed since that clear day on June 8, 1967 when Israel attacked the USS Liberty with aircraft and torpedo boats, killing 34 young men and wounding 171. The attack in international waters followed over nine hours of close surveillance. Israeli pilots circled the ship at low level 13 times on eight different occasions before attacking. Radio operators in Spain, Lebanon, Germany and aboard the ship itself all heard the pilots reporting to their headquarters that this was an American ship. They attacked anyway. And when the ship failed to sink, the Israeli government concocted an elaborate story to cover the crime.

There is no question that this attack on a U.S. Navy ship was deliberate. This was a coordinated effort involving air, sea, headquarters and commando forces attacking over a long period. It was not the "few rounds of misdirected fire" that Israel would have the world believe. Worse, the Israeli excuse is a gross and detailed fabrication that disagrees entirely with the eyewitness recollections of survivors. Key American leaders call the attack deliberate. More important, eyewitness participants from the Israeli side have told survivors that they knew they were attacking an American ship.

Israeli Pilot Speaks Up

Fifteen years after the attack, an Israeli pilot approached Liberty survivors and then held extensive interviews with former Congressman Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey about his role. According to this senior Israeli lead pilot, he recognized the Liberty as American immediately, so informed his headquarters, and was told to ignore the American flag and continue his attack. He refused to do so and returned to base, where he was arrested.

Later, a dual-citizen Israeli major told survivors that he was in an Israeli war room where he heard that pilot's radio report. The attacking pilots and everyone in the Israeli war room knew that they were attacking an American ship, the major said. He recanted the statement only after he received threatening phone calls from Israel.

The pilot's protests also were heard by radio monitors in the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. Then-U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dwight Porter has confirmed this. Porter told his story to syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak and offered to submit to further questioning by authorities. Unfortunately, no one in the U.S. government has any interest in hearing these first-person accounts of Israeli treachery.

Key members of the Lyndon Johnson administration have long agreed that this attack was no accident. Perhaps most outspoken is former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Thomas Moorer. "I can never accept the claim that this was a mistaken attack," he insists.

Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk is equally outspoken, calling the attack deliberate in press and radio interviews. Similarly strong language comes from top leaders of the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency (some of whose personnel were among the victims), National Security Council, and from presidential advisers such as Clark Clifford, Joseph Califano and Lucius Battle.

A top-secret analysis of Israel's excuse conducted by the Department of State found Israel's story to be untrue. Yet Israel and its defenders continue to stand by their claim that the attack was a "tragic accident" in which Israel mistook the most modern electronic surveillance vessel in the world for a rusted-out 40-year-old Egyptian horse transport.

Despite the evidence, no U.S. administration has ever found the courage to ever found the courage to defy the Israeli lobby by publicly demanding a proper accounting from Israel.

How Does Congress React to These Complaints?

Most members of Congress respond to inquiries about the Liberty with seemingly sympathetic promises to "investigate." Weeks or months later they write again to report their "findings": "The Navy investigated in 1967 and found no evidence that the attack was deliberate," they say." Israel apologized, calling the attack a tragic case of misidentification, and paid damages for loss of life, injuries and property damage. The matter is closed.

The fact is, however, that the Navy's "investigation" examined only the quality of the crew's training, the adequacy of communications and the performance of the crew under fire. The Navy was forbidden to examine Israeli culpability and Navy investigators refused to allow testimony showing that the attack was deliberate or that Israel's excuse was untrue.

The Navy blocked all testimony about Israeli actions.

Instead of determining whether the attack was deliberate, the Navy blocked all testimony about Israeli actions. No survivor was permitted to describe the close in machine-gun fire that continued for 40 minutes after Israel claims all firing stopped. No survivor was allowed to talk about the life rafts the Israeli torpedo men machine-gunned in the water. No survivor was permitted to challenge defects and fabrications in Israel's story. Even my eyewitness testimony as officer-of-the deck was withheld from the official record. No evidence of Israeli culpability was "found" because no such testimony was allowed. To survivors, this was not an investigation. It was a cover-up.