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The USS Liberty. (AP Archives)
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Last update - 14:04 04/10/2007
Israeli communications said to prove IAF knew Liberty was U.S. ship
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent

The Israel Air Force warplanes and Israel Navy warships that attacked the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, at the height of the Six-Day War, were aware that the vessel was an American spy ship, according to new testimony published Thursday in the Chicago Tribune.

The report stated that the U.S. National Security Agency - to which the intelligence gathering ship belonged - was able to intercept IAF communications according to which, at some stage, the pilots identified the ship as American but were nonetheless instructed to push ahead with the attack.

According to the report, some of the transcripts and intelligence information have disappeared, while the rest can be found in U.S. government archives.
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Oliver Kirby, the NSA's deputy director for operations at the time of the Liberty attack, is quoted by the Tribune as confirming the existence of the transcripts, saying he personally read them.

"They said, 'We've got him in the zero,'" Kirby was quoted as saying, "whatever that meant - I guess the sights or something. And then one of them said, 'Can you see the flag?' They said 'Yes, it's U.S, it's U.S.' They said it several times, so there wasn't any doubt in anybody's mind that they knew it."

Kirby told the newspaper that the transcripts were "something that's bothered me all my life. I'm willing to swear on a stack of Bibles that we knew they knew."

The report also states that then U.S. defense secretary Robert McNamara ordered jets that had been dispatched to assist the Liberty turned around.

The Tribune quotes J.Q. "Tony" Hart, then a chief petty officer assigned to a U.S. Navy relay station in Morocco that handled communications between Washington and the 6th Fleet, as saying that he listened in as McNamara said, "President [Lyndon] Johnson is not going to go to war or embarrass an American ally over a few sailors."

McNamara, who is now 91, told the Tribune he has "absolutely no recollection of what I did that day," except that "I have a memory that I didn't know at the time what was going on."

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev told the Tribune that the attack on the Liberty was "a tragic and terrible accident, a case of mistaken identity, for which Israel has officially apologized."

The USS Liberty was came under attack, first by IAF jets and then some 15 minutes later by Israel Navy warships, while patrolling off the shores of El-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula. 34 American sailors perished in the attack, 26 of them in the naval assault
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  1.   AnyLiberty Stories are very good for US Right wing ISRAEL haters 12:35  |  Alan 04/10/07
  2.   Israel new..friendly Fire.. 12:40  |  Ali 04/10/07
  3.   Israels first impulse? Lie every time. As with Pollard 12:40  |  Natallie Durson 04/10/07
  4.   US is a slave of Israel 13:01  |  Yossi 04/10/07
  5.   Breakthrough !!! 13:12  |  Genesis 04/10/07
  6.   NO CHANCE OF US PUNISHING ISRAEL 13:24  |  TrippleJump 04/10/07
  7.   US knew TOO 13:25  |  opinion 04/10/07
  8.   Time for Justice for US sailors murdered in the attack 13:28  |  Chris 04/10/07
  9.   So what ? 13:29  |  Igor 04/10/07
  10.   Another elders of zion? 13:31  |  Gene 04/10/07
  11.   Chris,boyo,US wasn`t helping Israel in 67,on the contrary 13:44  |  Absolute Sweden 04/10/07
  12.   #6 - there is always a chance. they will pay eventually. 13:45  |  Genesis 04/10/07
  13.   #1-so maybe we should hide it, just because it is true? 13:46  |  Genesis 04/10/07
  14.   #10 - Gene - the world will find out what really happened. 13:47  |  Genesis 04/10/07
  15.   Some People Still Swear They Saw Aliens At Roswell 13:51  |  Yosemite 04/10/07
  16.   Look at the picture right after the attack 13:55  |  Gene 04/10/07
  17.   Yossi is an arab posing as a jew on this site 13:56  |  Joseph 04/10/07
  18.   Chris 14:02  |  Joseph 04/10/07
  19.   Total BS 14:04  |  HonestAbe 04/10/07
  20.   Lying - it`s what Israel does best 14:04  |  Clickfool 04/10/07
  21.   Ignoring the facts won`t make them go away, Gene 14:12  |  Gray 04/10/07
  22.   US Caused Massive Casualties in Yom Kippur War 14:14  |  ralphsrant1 04/10/07
  23.   This is NO PROOF! 14:14  |  even 04/10/07
  24.   Very Israeli...attack the defenseless 14:18  |  Tim 04/10/07
  25.   Israeli Doctrine 14:23  |  Walid 04/10/07
  26.   Gene and dishonesty 14:25  |  Truths 04/10/07
  27.   Guilty conscience 14:27  |  Outraged Jew 04/10/07
  28.   Link to the Tribune`s story 14:28  |  Gray 04/10/07
  29.   Igor and so what 14:28  |  Edward 04/10/07
  30.   tell the truth about Rachel Corrie, too 14:29  |  ted 04/10/07
  31.   to Gene 14:30  |  Vince 04/10/07
  32.   CIA HASN`T BEEN FOOLINGT AROUND WITGH IDF SINCE. 14:33  |  Robert 04/10/07
  33.   Nice Going Haaretz 14:33  |  Steve from Raleigh 04/10/07
  34.   England, Japan, Germany, Canada, Mexico.... 14:34  |  Michael 04/10/07
  35.   For Gene # 10 14:38  |  Clickfool 04/10/07
  36.   Big Deal 14:44  |  Barry 04/10/07
  37.   to Natallie Durson#3 14:44  |  Ilya 04/10/07
  38.   Who is covering up what? 14:51  |  Adam 04/10/07
  39.   Gene (#10), I hope you don`t believe the "Elders" fabrication 14:53  |  Ron 04/10/07
  40.   #4 YOSSI 15:00  |  mich 04/10/07
  41.   respect for israel 15:04  |  respect 04/10/07
  42.   Liberty 15:12  |  charles 04/10/07
  43.   governments lie 15:17  |  realism 04/10/07
  44.   This story is misleading 15:17  |  Netanel 04/10/07
  45.   the anti israel myths persist despite the facts 15:18  |  victor hardman 04/10/07
  46.   What about 911? 15:20  |  Espart 04/10/07
  47.   So the Israeli pilots were speaking English to each other? 15:20  |  Amnon 04/10/07
  48.   Pat Tillman 15:20  |  Richard 04/10/07
  49.   Egyptian ship with US flag 15:21  |  Eduard 04/10/07
  50.   Michael 15:23  |  Walid 04/10/07
  51.   I doubt this is true 15:24  |  Ron 04/10/07
  52.   So what? 15:26  |  Fred Michaelsberg 04/10/07
  53.   Here we go again... 15:28  |  Joshua 04/10/07
  54.   #13 Ted: Corrie got what she deserved. 15:29  |  Fred Michaelsberg 04/10/07
  55.   Natalie on the banwagon 15:31  |  Ron 04/10/07
  56.   Intriguing story.... 15:31  |  Avrum 04/10/07
  57.   Liberty, Amira, Gideon. Always count on Ha`aretz 15:33  |  abu afak 04/10/07
  58.   Poor Kirby..we know what follows 15:37  |  B 04/10/07
  59.   ted loves lattes 15:37  |  peter 04/10/07
  60.   # 8 chris 15:40  |  mike 04/10/07
  61.   Case Closed? 15:41  |  Dan 04/10/07
  62.   Pilots were speaking Hebrew, NSA translated 15:43  |  Gray 04/10/07
  63.   You don`t sink ships without authentication! Period. 15:49  |  Gray 04/10/07
  64.   Rehashing the case is still worth it. 15:51  |  Seth Halpern 04/10/07
  65.   Rehashing the case is still worth it. 15:51  |  Seth Halpern 04/10/07
  66.   To all on #10 16:05  |  Gene 04/10/07
  67.   Finally, a congressional inquiry? 16:10  |  Klas 04/10/07
  68.   Order of events not made clear 16:11  |  Jake 04/10/07
  69.   Tim from Toronto; no YOU lie, lie, lie 16:17  |  Jake 04/10/07
  70.   Steve from Raleigh is correct; Haaretz is rehashing anecdotes 16:23  |  Jake 04/10/07
  71.   Nobody with half a brain 16:25  |  Axel 04/10/07
  72.   The USS Liberty 16:29  |  Dave 04/10/07
  73.   # 39 eduard 16:30  |  Axel 04/10/07
  74.   To Fred Michaelsberg 16:32  |  Jake 04/10/07
  75.   Why would they wait 40 years to release evidence? 16:34  |  Thinker 04/10/07
  76.   Liberties fate 16:35  |  Dan 04/10/07
  77.   heady days 16:36  |  Sabra 04/10/07
  78.   natalie Durson # 3 16:38  |  Sabra 04/10/07
  79.   US Played Both Sides and Got Caught 16:41  |  GZLives 04/10/07
  80.   US Played Both Sides and Got Caught #2 16:42  |  GZLives 04/10/07
  81.   US Played Both Sides and Got Caught #3 16:42  |  GZLives 04/10/07
  82.