This happened in the 60's and was it reported in the News NO!
From 14:03 until 14:10, the Israeli air assault unleashed hell, concentrating a coordinated strafing attack first of bombs, then of rockets, armor-piercing bullets, and napalm on the ship's communication antennas and crew. Basically these fighters exhausted all of their ordnance and ammunition on a ship they knew could not return fire before they left. (3) page 16 and (4). Israel later confirmed that multiple Mirage fighter-bombers and Dassault Mystyres swept-wing fighters were used, and this was confirmed from photographs taken by Liberty sailors. During the assault, the aircraft jammed all frequencies so the Liberty was only able to communicate during the short intervals when the Israeli rockets were in-flight, as the fighters had to switch off jamming temporarily. (1) page 36. Also during the assault, the American flag was shot away, but before the torpedo attack began, it was replaced with a larger 8x13 foot version. (3) page 19.
Between 14:24 and 14:28, the three torpedo boats arrived in visual range and were reported as flying Israeli flags. (3) page 19 and (1) page 36.
At 14:31, both the USS Liberty and the torpedo boats opened fire at each other. At least five (5) torpedoes were launched, and two (2) torpedoes made contact at about 14:35, and later mechanical analysis revealed one of the torpedoes hit in an area where a few meters in either direction would likely have broken the ship in half. Twenty-five (25) Americans working in the SIGINT section were killed instantly by this torpedo. Following the torpedoes, the Israeli boats raked the USS Liberty with cannon and machine-gun fire, shooting at any visible sailor above deck. At one point, the Israelis concentrated their fire on the boiler, trying to cause an explosion and sink the ship. The torpedo boats were later confirmed to be Ayah class motor torpedo boats, each carrying two (2) torpedoes, and (4) cannons. Before the ship was scrapped, there were 861 holes larger than a man's fist and thousands of 0.50 caliber machine gun holes. (3) pages 19-20, (2) pages 7-8, (1) page 37-38. Same as the fighter attack, basically the Israelis expended all of their ordnance and then just opened up with machine-guns, possibly to keep the sailors from activating a new radio line. They threw everything they had at the USS Liberty, trying to sink a defenseless vessel that they had confirmed to be American.
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Plotting The Pullout
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The attacks against police may constitute good news as well as bad. The bombings reflect a campaign to cripple so-called nation-building efforts and suggest that the perpetrators recognize that the country's security forces are improving—and are critical to that national redevelopment. Perkins says the expanding capacities of the half-million-strong police force, along with such events as last January's successful provincial election, have caused Al Qaeda in Iraq to "go after signs of progress. "You get an insight into the things that bother them—people moving forward with their daily lives or Iraqis taking charge of their own security," he says.
If the bombing was the work of Al Qaeda, it would be just one part of the network's destabilizing efforts. Holed up in Mosul and also operating in Kirkuk, the group tries to appeal to Arabs by demonizing Kurds, who lay claim to Kirkuk as part of the Kurdistan region and are an influential block in Mosul, which many of them also regard as Kurdish. Last fall, assaults of Christians in Mosul were blamed on Kurds by some Iraqis thought to be Qaeda operatives—and the actual attackers.
Such issues are part of the U.S. military's calculations as it decides whom to withdraw, when and where from. Perkins says American commanders carrying out President Obama's directives will consider "what are the critical periods and how to sequence personnel and equipment out of here." Commanders are in no hurry to leave Diyala governorate (where Kurds claim some more disputed territory and which has long been a hot spot) and Nineveh governorate or the city of Mosul, where the Americans actually had been beefing up resources.
Kurds and Arabs have been arguing over boundaries and oil exploration and development, as well as revenue sharing, which are among "the challenges that could cause a spiral in violence," Perkins concedes. In the meantime, Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraq government spokesman, says the attacks won't undermine the security gains already made. The government is "studying the situation to see if we have any infiltration in the Iraq Security Forces and we are going to fill all the gaps that we have," he says. It is a fair question given the suicide bomber's ability to get so close to the nerve center of the nation's security.
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