USS Liberty incident

Key Points

• The Israeli armed forces had ample opportunity to identify the USS Liberty but attacked it anyway.
• American investigations concluded that the attack was a result of gross negligence by Israeli forces.
• The U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry, the only actual investigation on the incident to date, was conducted hastily and its terms of reference were limited.
• The U.S. government and Israel jointly declared the attack an error, but some U.S. officials dispute this claim.
• The USS Liberty Veterans Association maintains that the U.S. investigations were not genuine inquiries into the attack.

Detailed Summary

• The U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry determined that the Israeli attack was not deliberate but also found the Israeli forces grossly negligent in failing to identify the vessel. Testimony from Liberty crew members, expert witnesses, and various reports was presented.
• The official U.S. records of the incident were classified and remain closed to the public. The U.S. and Israeli governments claimed the attack was a mistake, but doubts have been raised about this explanation.
• CIA Memoranda concluded that while the attack was not malicious, it was a result of negligence by Israeli Headquarters and the attacking aircraft.
• The Clark Clifford report held the Israeli Government and military personnel fully responsible for the attack, calling it an act of gross negligence.
• During Senate Foreign Relations Committee testimony, senators expressed concern about the attack and demanded more information, which was promised by Secretary of Defense McNamara.
• The National Security Agency (NSA) history report stated that the Liberty was clearly flying an American flag and weather conditions were optimal for easy identification.
• According to the USS Liberty Veterans Association, the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry was the only actual investigation into the attack, conducted hastily with limited scope.
• Former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren claims that the U.S. National Archives contain no evidence that information obtained by the Liberty contributed to Washington's knowledge of the situation on the Golan front.

Conclusions

• The USS Liberty incident remains a controversial event, with doubts about the official explanation of the attack.
• American investigations concluded that gross negligence by Israeli forces caused the attack, but the U.S. government accepted Israel's claim of error.
• Questions persist about the role of the Liberty in gathering intelligence and its potential impact on the conflict.