USS LIBERTY VETERAN ASSOC FILES WAR CRIMES AGAINST ISRAEL

U.S. Vets Seek Probe of Alleged War Crimes By WILLIAM C. MANN,
Associated Press Writer
Fri Jun 10, 5:48 AM ET



Survivors of a U.S. spy ship attacked by Israeli fighters and torpedo
boats 40 years ago are pressing the Pentagon for a full investigation
into alleged Israeli war crimes for a strike that caused 205
casualties, including 34 killed.

The attack on the USS Liberty occurred in international waters during
the Six-Day War in 1967 between Israel, Egypt and other Arab nations.
The survivors claim the attack itself was a violation of the Geneva
Conventions regulating conduct of war and that further crimes
occurred when Israeli sailors fired at rescuers and firefighters on
the ship's bullet-riddled deck and into rubber life rafts thrown into
the water to pick up survivors.

Gary Brummett, president of the USS Liberty Veterans Association,
said the appeal to the Defense Department is nothing more than an
appeal for justice for his shipmates. Brummett was a boiler tender
aboard the Liberty.

"Politicians will not touch this issue," Brummett said. "All the
presidents we have will not touch this issue. It's politically
incorrect. All we are trying to do now is to follow the rule of law."

Their new action, a 35-page, heavily footnoted report demanding a
full-scale, new investigation, quotes the laws of war in alleging
that Israel didn't honor them.

On the afternoon of June 8, 1967, two days into the Six-Day War,
Israeli warplanes began circling the Liberty as its nest of antennas
collected intelligence in international waters between al-Arish,
Egypt, in the Sinai near the Israeli border, and the Gaza Strip west
of Israel. The 7,725-ton Liberty, a former civilian cargo ship
refitted into one of the era's top intelligence-gathering vessels,
was flying the U.S. flag and bore U.S. Navy markings.

When the attack began, jets made six strafing runs, killing at least
10 and wounding others with gunfire, rockets and bombs. Three torpedo
boats joined the fray, firing machine guns and cannon. One fired a
torpedo, which missed the maneuvering ship. Another boat loosed its
torpedo, which struck on the starboard side, forward of the command
areas, caused more casualties, and Liberty began to list to the
right. Those left among the crew of 294 officers and men kept her
afloat.

Israel said its personnel mistook the ship for an Egyptian Navy
vessel. U.S. officials said that ship was far smaller than Liberty
and had none of the antennas the intelligence-gatherer had.

Previous official U.S. and Israeli investigations have found Israel
guilty of nothing more than making a mistake, possibly by
misidentifying the U.S. ship. A contentious State Department-
sponsored conference of historians and other experts last year failed
to reach consensus.

Israel apologized and paid damages of close to $13 million, some to
families of the victims.

David Siegel, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington,
repeated the Israeli position that the attack was in no way
premeditated.

"I can state categorically that the Liberty incident was a tragic
mistake, a case of mistaken identity," Siegel told The Associated
Press. "These are old allegations, discredited years ago by
successive U.S. administrations following numerous official
investigations, including by the official historians of the State
Department, the National Security Agency and other federal agencies."

The latest move by the Liberty survivors, who have pressed for
decades to have the official record changed, was submitted to Army
Secretary Francis J. Harvey, who acts as executive agent for Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for such cases.

Col. Thomas Collins, Harvey's spokesman, said he could not discuss
the matter because the secretary had not received it as of Thursday.
The document, shipped Tuesday by courier service, was dated
Wednesday, the 38th anniversary of the attack.

Brummett, of Grand Cane, La., said the association has no idea what
Harvey will do.

"He will look at this and will say, `Hey, OK, we've got to
investigate it.' Or he will turn it down. Whatever they want to do.

"If future is like the past, if politicians get involved, they will
certainly turn it down."

___

On the Net:

USS Liberty Veterans Association report:
http://www.usslibertyinquiry.com/Report/Report.pdf




http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050610/...py_ship_israel