Now this revelatory nugget may seem for most folks well and truly out of left-field, and it is to be sure not one that gets a lot of airplay. This is despite a number of books written about the Liberty incident, with the following being some highly credible accounts. James Ennes, a retired US Naval Officer and a survivor of the attack, wrote Assault on the USS Liberty, wherein he documents his experience and his own investigations into what actually happened. And investigative journalist Peter Hounam, also wrote Operation Cyanide: Why the Bombing of the USS Liberty nearly caused World War III. Along with the excellent 2002 BBC documentary by Christopher Mitchell, USS Liberty: Dead in the Water, these sources are essential for those wanting to find out more about this incident.
The "official" story of the Liberty is that on June 8, 1967, at the height of the Six Day War with Egypt, the Israelis "accidentally bombed" the ship off the coast of Egypt. Yet this does not tell the full story. Johnson -- who was being crapped on from great heights in the polls over 'Nam and looking down the barrel of a general election loss in 1968, and with the aim in mind to blame Egypt -- "ordered the Israelis to bomb the Liberty" in order to create a casus belli (a pretext for war) so he could secure a Gulf of Tonkin (GoT) style resolution.
This was a clear reference to LBJ's previous 'form' in this regard, which was his politically contrived pretext for massively escalating the whole 'Nam Thing -- [so as] to "explode the world into war". With the Liberty incident, it was much the same MO but this time in the Middle East.
Nelson explains LBJ's 'rationale' this way: in Johnson's demented imaginings, in America "everybody" loves an "outraged and indignant president" who will use the full force of the US Military at the slightest 'provocation', even a U.S. government initiated 'false flag' attack a la the GoT 'Nam sh*t.
And given that the divisive consequences - the blowback - of the Six Day War are very much still with us, the significance of this revelation and America's larger involvement in the conflict takes on a deeper resonance. After noting the "huge shadow" the war cast over the Middle East and the rest of the world, Lance Selfa writes:
"The war thrust onto the world agenda all of the issues still at the center of Middle Eastern politics today....Israel began one of the world's longest-running military occupations, which continues to be one of the greatest sources of Arab resentment against not only Israel, but its main cheerleader, the U.S."
"America, it isn't all just about you!"
Whether politically, socially, or economically then, the United States of America is becoming increasingly divided -- to the point where its very name now evinces ironic, ominously Orwellian connotations.
Moreover, this isn't just about America. To use the popular refrain, "Uncle Sam, it isn't all just about you!" To underscore this, my own country Australia has been dragged into supporting every war America has engaged in since 1945. Of course Vietnam was one such war, with Iraq and Afghanistan being more recent examples.
As with many other of America's allies, there is a growing feeling here Down Under -- especially amongst younger folks -- that unquestioning fealty to U.S. foreign policy and automatic alignment with its military adventurism in the future cannot and should not be guaranteed, and that America's obsession with its own national security (read that: interest) and its increasingly uncertain place in the ever volatile geopolitical order, is rising in indirect proportion to its self-inflicted, indeed, self-fulfilling in security.
All this, with the irony that such an obsession and the way in which it is being manifested is actually undermining its own national interest, along with contributing to, rather than mitigating, its own insecurity and instability, and the insecurity and instability of that same "geopolitical order". This "obsession" -- once rationalised then propelled by the fear of the "communist threat" and now by the fear of the "terrorist threat" -- becomes all consuming, for America and its allies, to the benefit of few.
Although in some circles it's not fashionable to say so, both fears/threats were/are far more abstract than existential. Yet therein may lay the key to a deeper appreciation of the factors which underpin this "obsession", along with a greater understanding of the true raison d'????tre of the architects of the National Security State and the priorities of the private sector beneficiaries of the massive growth of the 'homeland security-industrial' complex.
America's foreign policy then has for too long
been driven by the ulterior motive, best exemplified by Eisenhower era
secretary of state John
Foster Dulles' -- a
former Wall Street lawyer no less -- telling observation that, "America
does not have 'friends', it has 'interests'".
Whether from this vantage point or from one determined by their own personal insight, people are beginning to wise up to the fact that the United States is not about freedom, opportunity, democracy, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as much as it would have the rest of the world -- and its own citizens -- believe. That indeed it is more about imperial ambition, economic colonialism, financial feudalism and 'full spectrum dominance' than truly democratic ideals, ones underpinned by a respect for the desire for universal freedom and genuine sovereign independence, and adherence to the rule of international law.
To underscore the above, it is hard for example to escape the conclusion that the appointment of LBJ's long-time crony Edward Clark to the US Ambassadorship in Australia was made for one key purpose -- to keep a keen eye on the Aussies and ensure our continued commitment in 'Nam. We're talking here the very war Clark's own boss conjured the pretext for then recklessly escalated - a war that had horrendous consequences for millions of Americans and non-Americans alike for decades to come with nothing to show for the industrial scale death and devastation unleashed by Johnson's unhinged hubris and borderline apocalyptic impulses.
For his part, Clark's role in the LBJ narrative generally, and his part in the assassination planning and its cover-up more specifically, was laid bare in Barr McClellan's 2004 book Blood, Money and Power - How LBJ Killed JFK. McClellan, a lawyer in Clark's Texas law firm and as such a former member of LBJ's legal team, provides a compelling and convincing insider account of his own boss's involvement. (McClellan's eagerly awaited sequel -- The Verdict: Justice for John Kennedy, Justice for America -- is due for release early 2015).
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