Assault on the Liberty
ISBN:9780972311601 read summary

On June 8, 1967 (during the Six Day War), unmarked Israeli jets and marked gunboats tried to sink the USS Liberty knowing that the ship was flying the US flag, was in international waters, was unarmed, and was well identified. This book by James Ennes, who was onboard the ship during the attack, is an invaluable account of the attack, a detailed description of the coverup, and a credible attempt to explain why. As important as this book is, it should not be read alone. Other books about this attack add additional details both major and minor. And raise additional questions. A major question is the deployment of nuclear armed jets. In "Attack on the Liberty" by James Scott, Scott states that arming the planes with nuclear weapons on an aircraft carrier at the time of the attack was an exercise, Ennes states that nuclear-armed planes on deck were standard procedure on a carrier and that these planes were sent to assist the Liberty but were recalled to the carrier, Peter Hounam in "Operation Cyanide" states that the planes left the ship to bomb Cairo and when recalled had to land at Cyprus. What really happened? How close were we to a shooting war with the Soviets, Egypt's ally? As to why Israel would attack the Liberty, Ennes' timeline strongly supports that Israel was trying to cover up its attack on Syria in order to seize the Golan Heights. But was this the only reason? The details of Operation Cyanide have never been declassified, but some evidence suggests that the Johnson Whitehouse may have colluded with Israel on a minimally damaging attack on the Liberty in order to give the US an excuse to blame and attack Egypt in an attempt to raise President Johnson's poll numbers prior to the 1968 election. Captain McGonagle of the Liberty reported that the jet attacks were only a couple of passes and lasted six minutes followed by the torpedo and machine gun attack by the gunboats. The actual air attack was much longer and included many more planes. How could 821 cannon and rocket holes in the Liberty have been inflicted in six minutes? Could McGonagle's six minutes have been in the original Operation Cyanide plan and was he under orders to stick to the terms of the plan even though Israel scraped the plan to just attack Egypt and decided to sink the Liberty as part of its attack on Syria? Many questions remain unanswered as the US Govenment's cover up of the attack and Israel's insistence that it was just an accident continue to this day. READ ENNES' BOOK. THEN READ THE OTHER BOOKS ON THE ATTACK. ALSO VIEW THE DVD "USS LIBERTY: DEAD IN THE WATER" BY USS LIBERTY FRIENDS. If these sources don't make your blood boil, then... ALSO, read the negative reviews of this book. The attempts to coverup the truth continue.

For some time, the United States had had an emergency plan to attack Israel, a plan updated just prior to the 1967 war, aimed at preventing Israel from expanding westward, into Sinai, or eastward, into the West Bank.

In May 1967, one of the U.S. commands was charged with the task of removing the plan from the safe, refreshing it and preparing for an order to go into action.

This unknown aspect of the war was revealed in what was originally a top-secret study conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses in Washington.

In February 1968, an institute expert, L. Weinstein, wrote an article called "Critical Incident No. 14," about the U.S. involvement in the Middle East crisis of May-June 1967. Only 30 copies of his study were printed for distribution. Years later the material was declassified and can now be read by everyone, although details that are liable to give away sources' identities and operational ideas have remained censored.

Strike Command, the entity that was to have launched the attack on Israel, no longer exists. It was annulled in 1971 for domestic American reasons and superseded by Readiness Command, which was abolished in the 1980s in favor of Central Command (CENTCOM) - which today includes forces in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Afghanistan - and the Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

As Willy Wonka said "It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal!"

The United States of America, an alleged ally did knowingly initiate and prepare military plans to attack Israel and interfere in here ability to defend herself and deal shattering blow to their enemies. The U.S.S. Liberty was a spyship sent by the treacherous United States Govt into the area to gather data to allow StrikeCom, the arm of the army that would be responsible for initiating this attack to know where to better strike.

Its there, it almost happened and the only ones responsible for the Liberty is her Captain who knew exactly why they were spying on Israel and the joint chiefs of staff, its all been declassified so dont try and pretend this is some imaginary Zionist fairy tale.

You setup the Maine , Pearl Harbor, even Americans are saying that the United States are the ones behind 911, so maybe you should trash your own goverment over this.

I met the author of this book on a message board on the Prodigy service back in the mid 1990's. After writing a note to him on a message board I immediately came under attack from the Jewish crowd that was hounding him. I was branded by this crowd an anti-semite, Israel hating neo-nazi for having an interest in something I had never heard about so I bought and read the book to see what all the fuss was about.(after reading some of the critical reviews, especially all those from "A Customer," I have to wonder if some of those same folks are still hounding him. They sure sound familar).



In the past several years I have come across several articles (see below) which indicate Mr. Ennes, contrary to what some would have you believe, is truthfull in his book. To me what's more uspetting than an ally attacking a US ship is the US government not responding to the attack then covering it up. I highly recommend this book.


In the following article, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff accuses Israel of intentionally attacking the USS Liberty. This conclusion was reached by an independent commission comprised of the following:

Admiral Thomas Moorer: former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (under President Nixon)

Four-Star General Ray Davis: former Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the most-decorated living Marine until his recent death (his honors include the Purple Heart, two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, two Legion of Merit awards, and the Congressional Medal of Honor)

Rear Admiral Merlin Staring: former Judge Advocate General of the Navy

Admiral James Akins: former United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

[...]



New revelations in attack on American spy ship
Veterans, documents suggest U.S., Israel didn't tell full story of deadly '67 incident

....The attack "couldn't be anything else but deliberate," the NSA's director, Lt. Gen. Marshall Carter, later told Congress.

"I don't think you'll find many people at NSA who believe it was accidental," Benson Buffham, a former deputy NSA director, said in an interview.....

[...]

...unknown to Israel, a US Navy EC-121 intelligence aircraft was flying high overhead the "Liberty," electronically recorded the attack. The US aircraft crew provides evidence that the Israeli pilots knew full well that they were attacking a US Navy ship flying the American flag.....
[...]

What US Navy ship that most Americans have never heard of was collectively awarded: one Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, eleven Silver Stars, twenty Bronze Stars (with "V" device), nine Navy Commendation Medals, two hundred four Purple Hearts and the Presidential Unit Citation? The USS Liberty, which was brutally and intentionally attacked by Israel June 8, 1967. What is the best book on the subject? Assault on the Liberty, by James Ennes, Jr.

I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting. Some books are well written, others are compelling, this one is both. Even though Jim Ennes was a member of the crew, so he was able to write about the attack on the ship from a first hand point of view, but he also did his homework and documented the details of this little known piece of history very well.

If you have a shred of patriotism, like history that is written with the intrigue of a novel, I strongly recommend this book. It should be required reading for every high school student in the United States.

Public persons are free to assail and insult every nation in the world -- including their own United States -- except Israel. Note that AIPAC is by far the most influential lobbying firm in America and you're labeled an anti-Semite (witness Mearsheimer and Walt's treatment...). Become critical of Israel in Congress and you're likely not to get re-elected (read Congressman Findley's They Dare to Speak Out). Write a book on our beloved "ally" deliberately and repeatedly attacking a US Navy technical research vessel in international waters in broad daylight with the Stars and Stripes flapping in the wind and you're labeled a conspiracy theorist.

Such is the state of public discourse in America today. Most non-historians, I dare say, have never heard of the attack on the USS LIBERTY. In 1967, during the Six Day War, LIBERTY was cruising in the Mediterranean in international waters. Though technically a "research vessel", it is/was no secret that she was a "spy ship", fitted with sophisticated communications equipment capable of intercepting signals traffic. After being flown over at low altitude several times by Israeli aircraft (making her identity unmistakeable), LIBERTY was subsequently strafed and torpedoed by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats, killing 34 US sailors.

Distress signals from LIBERTY were received by the USS SARATOGA, which on two occasions launched Phantoms to assist LIBERTY. On both occasions, the rescue planes were called back by Secretary McNamara.

Despite the accusations of "conspiracy theory," many senior government representatives, including then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Moorer, have publicly stated their belief that LIBERTY was attacked deliberately by the Israelis. Ennes provides a moving and thorough account. No student of American history, Naval history, or American foreign policy should miss this book.