Newsweek
June 19, 1967
page 21

THE PERISCOPE

AHEAD OF THE NEWS

Sinking the Liberty: Accident or Design?

The Israeli attack on the naval communications ship U.S.S. Liberty has left a wake of bitterness and political charges of the most serious sort. First of all, the Liberty was no ordinary vessel but an intelligence-gathering ship on a "ferret" mission. It carried elaborate gear to locate both Israeli and Egyptian radio and radar and to monitor and tap all military messages sent from command posts to the battlefield. Although Israel's apologies were officially accepted, some high Washington officials believe the Israelis knew the Liberty's capabilities and suspect that the attack might not have been accidental. One top-level theory holds that someone in the Israeli armed forces ordered the Liberty sunk because he suspected it had taken down messages showing that Israel started the fighting. (A Pentagon official has already tried to shoot down the Israeli claim of "pilot error.") Not everyone in Washington is buying this theory, but some top Administration officials will not be satisfied until fuller and convincing explanations of the attack on a clearly marked ship in international waters are forthcoming.

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151615Z JUN 67 USDAO TEL AVIV
161815Z JUN 67 AMEMBASSY VALLETTA
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171602Z JUN 67 AMEMBASSY PARIS
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