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View Full Version : For the Record: USS Liberty Cover-Up Charged



thedrifter
01-14-04, 05:19 AM
01-13-2004 <br />
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For the Record: USS Liberty Cover-Up Charged <br />
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Editor’s Note: More than 36 years after the Israeli attack on the electronic surveillance ship USS Liberty in the eastern...

thedrifter
01-14-04, 05:20 AM
16. I know from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of “mistaken identity’” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.


17. Admiral Kidd told me, after returning from Washington, D.C., that he had been ordered to sit down with two civilians from either the White House or the Defense Department and rewrite portions of the Court’s findings.



18. Admiral Kidd also told me that he had been ordered to “put the lid’” on everything having to do with the attack on USS Liberty. We were never to speak of it and we were to caution everyone else involved that they could never speak of it again.



19. I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of that statement as I know that the Court of Inquiry transcript that has been released to the public is not the same one that I certified and sent off to Washington.



20. I know this because it was necessary, due to the exigencies of time, to hand correct and initial a substantial number of pages. I have examined the released version of the transcript and I did not see any pages that bore my hand corrections and initials. Also, the original did not have any deliberately blank pages, as the released version does. Finally, the testimony of Lt. Painter concerning the deliberate machine gunning of the life rafts by the Israeli torpedo boat crews, which I distinctly recall being given at the Court of Inquiry and included in the original transcript, is now missing and has been excised.



21. Following the conclusion of the Court of Inquiry, Admiral Kidd and I remained in contact. Though we never spoke of the attack in public, we did discuss it between ourselves, on occasion. Every time we discussed the attack, Admiral Kidd was adamant that it was a deliberate, planned attack on an American ship.



22. In 1990, I received a telephone call from Jay Cristol, who wanted to interview me concerning the functioning of the Court of Inquiry. I told him that I would not speak to him on the subject and prepared to hang up the telephone. Cristol then began asking me about my personal background and other, non-Court of Inquiry related matters. I endeavored to answer these questions and politely extricate myself from the conversation. Cristol continued to return to the subject of the Court of Inquiry, which I refused to discuss with him. Finally, I suggested that he contact Admiral Kidd and ask him about the Court of Inquiry.



23. Shortly after my conversation with Cristol, I received a telephone call from Admiral Kidd, inquiring about Cristol and what he was up to. The Admiral spoke of Cristol in disparaging terms and even opined that “Cristol must be an Israeli agent.” I don’t know if he meant that literally or it was his way of expressing his disgust for Cristol’s highly partisan, pro-Israeli approach to questions involving USS Liberty.



24. At no time did I ever hear Admiral Kidd speak of Cristol other than in highly disparaging terms. I find Cristol’s claims of a “close friendship” with Admiral Kidd to be utterly incredible. I also find it impossible to believe the statements he attributes to Admiral Kidd concerning the attack on USS Liberty.



25. Several years later, I received a letter from Cristol that contained what he purported to be his notes of our prior conversation. These “notes” were grossly incorrect and bore no resemblance in reality to that discussion. I find it hard to believe that these “notes” were the product of a mistake, rather than an attempt to deceive. I informed Cristol that I disagreed with his recollection of our conversation and that he was wrong. Cristol made several attempts to arrange for the two of us to meet in person and talk but I always found ways to avoid doing this. I did not wish to meet with Cristol as we had nothing in common and I did not trust him.



26. Contrary to the misinformation presented by Cristol and others, it is important for the American people to know that it is clear that Israel is responsibly for deliberately attacking an American ship and murdering American sailors, whose bereaved shipmates have lived with this egregious conclusion for many years.



Dated: January 8, 2004

At Coronado, California.





WARD BOSTON, JR., CAPTAIN, JAGC, USN (RET.)

SENIOR COUNSEL TO THE USS LIBERTY COURT OF INQUIRY


http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=326&rnd=74.94288102648721

Sempers

Roger
:marine:

Lock-n-Load
01-14-04, 08:09 AM
:marine:....that Israel did their utmost to sink the USS Liberty and kill all of our sailors aboard and adrift in the sea; plus, the perfidy of Lyndon Johnson and that bloody butcher, McNamara to withold the truth from the American public....it wouldn't be the first or last time the American public would be hoodwinked at will....I really don't give a good damn about the Israeli's and those Palestinians, that regional maelstrom...not in the least...since the unprovoked attack on the USS Liberty!!! Semper Fi:marine:

greybeard
01-14-04, 07:18 PM
I'm curious as to what motive the Israelis would have for this. Not much to gain and a lot to lose in my opinion. What purpose would this serve? Anybody?