This is taken verbatim from the Moorer Report, published in 2003:
Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli Attack on USS Liberty,
the Recall of Military Rescue Support Aircraft while the Ship was Under
Attack, and the Subsequent Cover-up by the United States Government
We, the undersigned, having undertaken an independent investigation of Israel's attack on USS Liberty,
including eyewitness testimony from surviving crewmembers, a review of
naval and other official records, an examination of official statements
by the Israeli and American governments, a study of the conclusions of
all previous official inquiries, and a consideration of important new
evidence and recent statements from individuals having direct knowledge
of the attack or the cover up, hereby find the following:
1. That on June 8, 1967, after eight hours of aerial surveillance, Israel launched a two-hour air and naval attack against USS Liberty,
the world's most sophisticated intelligence ship, inflicting 34 dead
and 173 wounded American servicemen (a casualty rate of seventy percent,
in a crew of 294);
2. That the Israeli air attack lasted approximately 25 minutes, during
which time unmarked Israeli aircraft dropped napalm canisters on USS Liberty's
bridge, and fired 30mm cannons and rockets into our ship, causing 821
holes, more than 100 of which were rocket-size; survivors estimate 30 or
more sorties were flown over the ship by a minimum of 12 attacking
Israeli planes which were jamming all five American emergency radio
channels;
3. That the torpedo boat attack involved not only the firing of torpedoes, but the machine-gunning of Liberty's
firefighters and stretcher-bearers as they struggled to save their ship
and crew; the Israeli torpedo boats later returned to machine-gun at
close range three of the Liberty's life rafts that had been lowered into
the water by survivors to rescue the most seriously wounded;
4. That there is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a
deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire crew;
evidence of such intent is supported by statements from Secretary of
State Dean Rusk, Undersecretary of State George Ball, former CIA
director Richard Helms, former NSA directors Lieutenant General William
Odom, USA (Ret.), Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, USN (Ret.), and Marshal
Carter; former NSA deputy directors Oliver Kirby and Major General John
Morrison, USAF (Ret.); and former Ambassador Dwight Porter, U.S.
Ambassador to Lebanon in 1967;
5. That in attacking USS Liberty, Israel committed acts of murder against American servicemen and an act of war against the United States;
6. That fearing conflict with Israel, the White House deliberately prevented the U.S. Navy from coming to the defense of USS Liberty
by recalling Sixth Fleet military rescue support while the ship was
under attack; evidence of the recall of rescue aircraft is supported by
statements of Captain Joe Tully, Commanding Officer of the aircraft
carrier USS Saratoga, and Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis, the Sixth Fleet
carrier division commander, at the time of the attack; never before in
American naval history has a rescue mission been cancelled when an
American ship was under attack;
7. That although Liberty was saved from almost certain
destruction through the heroic efforts of the ship's Captain, William L.
McGonagle (MOH), and his brave crew, surviving crewmembers were later
threatened with "court-martial, imprisonment or worse" if they exposed
the truth; and were abandoned by their own government;
8. That due to the influence of Israel's powerful supporters in the
United States, the White House deliberately covered up the facts of this
attack from the American people;
9. That due to continuing pressure by the pro-Israel lobby in the United
States, this attack remains the only serious naval incident that has
never been thoroughly investigated by Congress; to this day, no
surviving crewmember has been permitted to officially and publicly
testify about the attack;
10. That there has been an official cover-up without precedent in
American naval history; the existence of such a cover-up is now
supported by statements of Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, USN (Ret.),
former Judge Advocate General of the Navy; and Captain Ward Boston, USN,
(Ret.), the chief counsel to the Navy's 1967 Court of Inquiry of Liberty attack;
11. That the truth about Israel's attack and subsequent White House
cover-up continues to be officially concealed from the American people
to the present day and is a national disgrace;
12. That a danger to our national security exists whenever our elected
officials are willing to subordinate American interests to those of any
foreign nation, and specifically are unwilling to challenge Israel's
interests when they conflict with American interests; this policy,
evidenced by the failure to defend USS Liberty and the subsequent
official cover-up of the Israeli attack, endangers the safety of
Americans and the security of the United States.
WHEREUPON, we, the undersigned, in order to fulfill our duty to the
brave crew of USS Liberty and to all Americans who are asked to serve in
our Armed Forces, hereby call upon the Department of the Navy, the
Congress of the United States and the American people to immediately
take the following actions:
FIRST: That a new Court of Inquiry be convened by the Department of the
Navy, operating with Congressional oversight, to take public testimony
from surviving crewmembers; and to thoroughly investigate the
circumstances of the attack on the USS Liberty, with full
cooperation from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence
Agency and the military intelligence services, and to determine Israel's
possible motive in launching said attack on a U.S. naval vessel;
SECOND: That every appropriate committee of the Congress of the United
States investigate the actions of the White House and Defense Department
that prevented the rescue of the USS Liberty, thereafter
threatened her surviving officers and men if they exposed the truth, and
covered up the true circumstances of the attack from the American
people; and
THIRD: That the eighth day of June of every year be proclaimed to be hereafter known as USS LIBERTY REMEMBRANCE DAY, in order to commemorate USS Liberty's
heroic crew; and to educate the American people of the danger to our
national security inherent in any passionate attachment of our elected
officials for any foreign nation.
We, the undersigned, hereby affix our hands and seals, this 22nd day of October, 2003.
Thomas H. Moorer
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
General of Marines Raymond G. Davis, USMC, MOH
Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, USN, Ret.,
Former Judge Advocate General of the Navy
Ambassador James Akins, Ret.,
Former United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
From: http://voxday.blogspot.com/2019/06/remembrance-day.html
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