Remembering USS Liberty at 'Sad Little Gathering'

On Friday, Patricia Blue-Rousakis plans to be at Arlington National Cemetery where she has spent many June 8ths for the past 15 years.



There, she’ll join with a handful of survivors of the 1967 attack on the surveillance ship USS Liberty, which was struck by Israeli air and naval forces. The group will hear a retired chaplain say a prayer, visit with those in attendance -- some, like herself, who lost family members on the Liberty -- and then go off to lunch in Alexandria, Va.



But even after so many years, and knowing full well that the topic of the Liberty is widely viewed as poisonous, the visitors still note the absence of political and military officials at the observance.


“We talk about it among ourselves,” said Blue-Rousakis, whose first husband, Alan Blue, was a National Security Agency linguist on the ship. He was among the 34 men killed and 174 wounded in the attack.


“Of the family members and the survivors, every single one of us at one time or another has invited our representative from [the House] and the Senate. And no one has ever shown up. No one. It’s a very sad little gathering.”



It’s just not the politicians, she said.



Forty-five years after the attack, no uniformed officers are expected to attend the ceremony.



“They won’t do it. They absolutely will not do it,” she said.



The lightly armed American spy ship was strafed, napalmed and torpedoed by Israeli air and naval forces for more than an hour in broad daylight during the Six-Day War. But for a crewman gerry-rigging a radio to get a message out to the fleet, many Liberty survivors believe they would have been sunk with all hands.



President Lyndon Johnson accepted Israel’s apology for the attack, but it has remained hotly controversial ever since, a lightning rod for conspiracy theorists. Alternative theories about Israel’s attack -- about it being deliberate; about cover-ups -- have made the topic of the Liberty too radioactive for members of Congress or Pentagon leaders.



Journalist and author James Scott, whose father survived the attack, wrote in “Attack on the Liberty” that Johnson believed the attack was deliberate. But he let Israel off the hook because he feared “alienating” American Jewish leaders, from whom he was getting “pressure” for escalating the war in Vietnam.



Joseph Meadors, a Liberty survivor and the current president of the Liberty Veterans Association, said he and his predecessors have been inviting members of Congress to Arlington since they began holding the observances in the 1980s, he said.



“This year I’ve invited every member of Congress who represents a congressional district where a USS Liberty KIA lived,” Meadors said. This meant invitations to lawmakers from 21 states. So far three lawmakers have said they would send staffers, but as of Wednesday one staffer had bailed out, saying there was a scheduling conflict.



This is usually how it works, Meadors said. He said he’d be surprised if the other staffers show.



One lawmaker, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, responded to the invitation with a brief note to be read at the ceremony. Cornyn offered his “deep sympathy to the friends and loved ones of the 34 brave Americans who were lost that day.



“Although words are hardly adequate, please know that you and your families are in my thoughts and prayers.” The note spoke of honoring the dead who protect the United States, and of remaining dedicated, “just as they were dedicated, to the principles foundational to our Constitution, we must willingly defend them whenever necessary.”

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c73_1339284644&comments=1

 

Vote grabber.

 

[video=youtube;F3_EXqJ8f-0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3_EXqJ8f-0[/video]
Marine General Smedly Butler's speech on our racketeering wars is appropriate when pompous deceptive officials pretend that all is well.

 

When are Lyndon Johnson and all the liar politicians and officials who covered up the deliberate attempt by the US government and the Israelis to sink the USS Liberty and all onboard her going to apolgize?

Answer: NEVER. They prefer lies, taxes and wars.

I suppose a few individuals might repent and confess.

 

Thankfully, American isn't like that now.

Phew!

 

They may.

But these days the state smear and intern whisteblowers.

 

Shame on you for using this terrible accident to make political points towards you hateful ends.

You are a hater and I want no part of you and your stupid attacks.

Grow up.

 

The most disgusting haters of both the US and Israel are the ones making the biggest stink about this unfortunate incident (recognized as a friendly fire incident by dozens of US investigations). In all other circumstances they have an orgasm when Americans or Israelis are murdered by their Islamofascist ilk.

 

Who has killed more Americans? Jews or Sand (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)s?

 

Good question, morons whining about one unfortunate friendly fire incident somehow "forget" to mention the murder of 200 US marines in Lebanon and 3,000 Americans in the Twin towers, let alone thousands of other smaller scale attacks on american citizens by muslim terrorists.

 

Nice knowing ya... lol

 

This accident, er, that it WAS, was settled years ago when the NSA released the radio transcripts showing Israeli pilots did NOT know it was an American ship. When they did find out, they called off the attack and called in help.

Down with Arab/Palestinianism genocidal 'nationalism' whose racist/real goal is a Judenrein state and wiping out the Jewish one.
Down with Filthy antisemites who care nothing for arabs, merely use 'palestine' (etc) as a proxy/excuse for Jew Bashing.
*****

 

Lyndon Johnson is dead. It was in all the papers.

 

Yes.

How terrible that I should place this memory here.

I should have forgotten instead.

You should be ashamed of your silence.

 

3000 Americans did not die in 911.

Another lie.

People should get their facts right.

Do these people not matter, and should their national identity just be absorbed?


Argentina: 4
Australia: 11
Bangladesh: 6
Belarus: 1
Belgium: 1
Bermuda: 1
Brazil: 3
Canada: 27
Chile: 2
China: 4
Cote d'Ivoire: 1
Colombia: 17
Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2
Dominican Republic: 1
El Salvador: 1
Ecuador: 3
France: 1
Germany: 11
Ghana: 2
Guyana: 3
Haiti: 2
Honduras: 1
India: 1
Indonesia: 1
Ireland: 6
Israel: 5
Italy: 4
Jamaica: 16
Japan: 26
Jordan: 2
Lebanon: 3
Lithuania: 1
Malaysia: 7
Mexico: 16
Moldova: 1
Netherlands: 1
New Zealand: 2
Nigeria: 1
Panama: 2
Peru: 5
Philippines: 16
Portugal: 3
Poland: 1
Russia: 1
South Africa: 2
South Korea: 28
Spain: 1
Sweden: 1
Taiwan: 1
Ukraine: 1
Uzbekistan: 1
United Kingdom: 67
Venezuela: 1

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_died_in_the_September_11_attacks#ixzz1xS76KVJc

 

Gosh, 2998 and many still afflicted by breathing the debris. Two short and you are complaining?

 

I don't believe that the banned guy's ' question ' was as good as it's cracked up to be I also don't believe that the Liberty was manned by terrorists, let alone muslim terrorists , but I won't be at all surprised to see some neozionist boot-licker try to weave it into his phoney account

 

Those Muslims don't pretend to be our friends- actually- our best friends in the middle east. Israel does. This is not the first time Israel has deceived its western benefactor either as you well know.

 

Note the UK topping the list, add to that all who died in Iraq and Afghanistan (still counting). GG

 

I was talking about the Islamofascists on this forum who are ecstatic every time an American is killed. But of course these America haters shed crocodile tears over the death of american sailors in an unfortunate friendly fire incident (confirmed as such by a dozen independent investigations, released NSA tapes etc). They are cynically using the death of the sailors to drive a wedge between the US and Israel, their hypocricy is endless and beyond disgust.

Israel is indeed a friend and ally and has made thousands of concessions to american demands and requests against their own interests. It's ironic when Egyptians of all people accuse Israel of not being true american friend given that 79% of Egyptians hate the US. But of course Israel is not a "puppet" and sometimes there are differences.

 

Do tell:

 

While I would agree that most politicians are too spineless to touch this topic, your overall agenda is becoming rather transparent, Jack.

 

All innocent death is a stain on mankind.

There is never an excuse.

Accuracy is also imporant though.

For someone to claim exclusivety of that day, and assert only Americans died, is inaccurate.

And a shame for the people of many other nationalities that died.

Lest historical accuracy mean nothing to you, why not stretch it a bit more, claim that is was 5,000, and not only were they all Americans, but they were all Americans that loved Jesus.

Why not make out like only Jews died in internment, during WW2?

After all, what does it matter?

Why not make out like it is possible to attack a ship for ONE HOUR, IN DAYLIGHT, and claim it was a 'mistake'.

Oh...wait.....

 

Don't worry about your perception of 'my agenda'.

My agenda is one of non violence and peace.

My agenda is not to lead you to more wars, cripple your economy, or toss soldiers aside, and forget them.

My agenda is to bring attention to those things.

Jack

 

Gee, these posts must have slipped by me!

How about some links?