Headlines for June 3 - June 9

A Stand For Justice


Remembering the USS Liberty
Congress never formally investigated the attack and to this day, bitterness lingers among the survivors of the only ship in U.S. naval history that was ever deliberately attacked by an ally. No one at any level — Israeli or American — was ever held accountable for what happened to the USS Liberty.


June 8th, Anniversary of Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty Veterans Today
“I have never believed that the attack on the USS Liberty was a case of mistaken identity,” Admiral Moorer has said. “What is so chilling and cold-blooded, of course, is that they [the Israelis] could kill as many Americans as they did in confidence that Washington would cooperate in quelling any public outcry. I have to conclude that it was Israel’s intent to sink the Liberty and leave as few survivors as possible.”


Top US officer: Vets need not suffer alone
In a stirring tribute to the D–Day sacrifices of American soldiers and their allies, the U.S. military's top officer said Sunday that World War II's defining moment should remind all that returning warriors need not "suffer in quiet desperation."



June 8 1967 - Honor those aboard the USS Liberty
Find out the truth (from the survivors) and most importantly, HONOR THEIR HEROISM, for it was their sheer bravery that prevented Israel from sinking that ship and killing ALL ABOARD.


43rd Anniversary of Israel’s Attack on USS Liberty
It is naive to think that the Obama team would give a damn about getting the truth out about last week’s Israeli attack on the humanitarian relief ship, considering how the U.S. government has vigilantly covered up the IDF killing of 34 American sailors.


Call Center ‘Saves’ 8,000 Suicidal Vets



Doubts Grow Over Israel's Value as U.S. Ally
"It is time Israel realised that it has obligations to the United States, as well as the United States to Israel, and that it (has to) become far more careful about the extent to which it test(s) the limits of U.S. patience and exploits the support of Americans Jews," he went on, noting the Israeli government "should be sensitive to the fact that its actions directly affect U.S. strategic interests in the Arab and Muslim worlds..."....."When someone as balanced and centrist as Tony Cordesman begins to worry about the extent to which Israel is making itself into a strategic burden for the United States, Israel should pause for some self-reflection," Freeman told IPS.......on the eve of Obama's inauguration, the influential National Journal ran a symposium on the question: "Is Israel a Strategic Liability for the United States?" in which a surprising number of respected national security analysts answered in the affirmative.




Iran Revolutionary Guards ready to escort Gaza ships



The Strategic Ally Myth by Philip Giraldi
Zuckerman’s latest contribution to international harmony is a lengthy piece in the US News & World Report entitled “Israel Is a Key Ally and Deserves US Support.” It is a propaganda piece that promotes one of the most persistent fictions put out by the mainstream media, that the relationship with Israel somehow benefits the United States.


More Spin from Israel by Philip Giraldi
The flotilla, consisting of nationals from as many as twenty countries, was unarmed and carrying relief supplies that had been carefully inspected by the Turkish authorities. It was in international waters when it was attacked. More than 600 passengers and crew, apart from those who were killed, were subsequently arrested by Israel for refusing to identify themselves. If all that is correct, then Tel Aviv is guilty of piracy, kidnapping, and murder while the armed attack on a Turkish flagged vessel might be construed as inviting a military response from NATO. One of the vessels bore an American flag and there were at least eight US citizens on board, including a former ambassador and a USS Liberty survivor, suggesting that a strong reaction from Washington would not be inappropriate........US congressmen are already lining up to support the Israeli action and the State Department is silent about the American student who had her eye shot out by Israeli border policemen while demonstrating peacefully against the attack on the flotilla


US Used Cluster Bombs on Yemen Civilians: Amnesty



Israel and Obama Hail UN Sanctions as Defiant Iran Vows to Keep Enriching Uranium



Israel asked U.S. to increase weapons supply, Haaretz learns
Israel recently approached the United States with new requests for security-related purchases, Haaretz has learned. The requests included Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM ) bombs for the Israel Air Force, as well as a significant expansion of the emergency stores held by the U.S. army in Israel.


'Israel may have ordered Kurdish terror attack'
Turkish authorities are accusing Israel of "ordering" a terror attack carried out by Kurdish rebels on the same day the Israeli Navy raided a Turkish-owned Gaza-bound ship last week in revenge for Ankara's involvement in the incident, Turkish newspaper Zaman reported Sunday.


Millions forced to wait for food stamps benefits
Americans literally go hungry as we continue to shovel billions of our taxpayer dollars to Israel - which then uses it to starve and imprison a million plus people, and take their land.


U.N. council hits defiant Iran with new sanctions
Russia and China, which have strong economic ties with Tehran and have at times resisted sanctions, fully backed the new U.N. move to blacklist dozens of Iranian military, industrial and shipping firms.



Iranian troops building fort in Iraq
Iranian troops pursuing Kurdish guerrillas in the remote mountains of northern Iraq have begun constructing a small fort on Iraqi territory, suggesting they plan on staying for a while, Kurdish officials said Tuesday.


Iran Warns Russia Not To Play Dangerous Games with UN’s New Sanctions



U.S. accused of Iran 'siege'
"Some parts of the territories occupied by Armenia lie in Iran's neighborhood and the (United States) wants to deploy its forces in the region under the cover of the U.N. peace-keeping troops," Samadov said.


Combat's Hidden Toll: 1 in 10 Soldiers Report Mental Health Problems
The most surprising finding was that the rates of depression and PTSD symptoms among the National Guard soldiers increased sharply 12 months post-deployment, while those same problems remained stable among full-time active duty soldiers.


1967 USS Liberty survivor was onboard flotilla ship
Meadors expects an investigation will show that Israel violated international law and should be held accountable for its actions. He holds the same hope for the USS Liberty case, which has yet to be settled.

“We filed a war crimes report with the Department of Defense in 2005. They claim they already investigated the allegation we made, but they can’t show us where they have,” said Meadors.

Meadors said that Israel was the aggressor in the flotilla attack and that the only story being portrayed is Israel’s version, because the Israeli forces confiscated all video and recording equipment from the flotilla passengers.



Local Veteran Talks About Israeli Attack on Flotilla
A local veteran says the Israeli attack on a flotilla in the Meditteranean brings back painful memories of an incident that occured some 43 years ago this month.
John Hrankowski was serving aboard the U.S.S. Liberty when it was attacked by Israeli jets and torpedo boats in the Six-Day War in June of 1967.


Extra letters from readers
The Times Union recently reported on the memorial services for the USS Stark and its crew attacked in international waters by an Iraq aircraft during the Iran-Iraq war. We deservedly remember their sacrifices and the bravery of the crew in saving their ship. But there are no memorial services for the crew of the USS Liberty attacked in international waters by the Israeli navy and air force during the 1967 Israeli war against the Arabs.


Russian PM gas pipeline unlikely to go to Israel
"Blue Stream II most likely will not be extended to Israel for purely financial reasons," Putin said on the sidelines of a security summit here. "They simply don't need it."


Israel’s bet
The U.S. military, whose job it now is to tamp down on Islamic extremism, may find it impossible to do so if it is seen as enabling Israel to attack other Muslims. Americans troops may wish to have it explained to them why the “special relationship” is so important given how detrimental it is to their jobs. It may very well be the only institution in government that could demand a change in U.S. foreign policy for the sake of the war effort and get away with it.


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
Sorry, 'Georgie', I doubt the flotilla passengers were 'pro-Hamas' as claimed here. But otherwise, good article which mentions USS Liberty, Pollard and the Lavon Affair.


Gaza flotilla: Turkey accused of behaving like Iran by Israel
The Turkish ruling party AKP was savagely attacked by an unrepentant Israeli government last night, which said it was behaving like Iran and was "wholly to blame" for the deterioration in relations between the two countries.


Israel: U.S. Asset or Burden? Asset, Say ADL, AIPAC, 334 Congressmen. Burden, Says Mossad
Pro-Israel advocates have maintained for decades that it is an asset, and a darned valuable one. This view has been emphatically restated in the past few days by, among others, the Anti-Defamation League (here), AIPAC and 334 members of the House of Representatives in (a letter) to President Obama THe Israeli Lobby has our Congress over a barrel. Believe it.


Four reasons the US could get Israel to talk about a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction



The IAEA: From UN Nuclear Watchdog to US Lapdog
The most glaring indication of the IAEA’s appeasement of US belligerence over the latter’s allegations of Iranian nuclear ambitions, and therefore the need for further punitive UN sanctions, is the gaping omission from the agency’s report of the Tehran nuclear fuel swap declaration.


Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2010 Congressional Candidates
Notice the highest dollar amounts go to those who are routine and flagrant Israel-defenders, but who also hold key positions on important congressional committees.


Videos deepen mystery over Iran nuclear scientist Amiri
He says he was in the Saudi city of Medina as part of a Muslim pilgrimage when Saudi intelligence officers drugged and kidnapped him. "When I became conscious, I found myself in a plane on the way to the US," he said.



Erdogan, Putin: Israel won’t get our gas



General Patton Museum plans veteran tribute
Fellow desert veteran Navy Capt. William McGonagle, who earned his medal in 1967 as commanding officer of the USS Liberty, is also recognized in the exhibit.
McGonagle is a graduate of Coachella Valley High School.



Commando raid revealed
On Memorial Day, did we all remember the 34 dead on spyship USS Liberty? Who's to blame if we didn't, since the coverup by government and big media was well-executed


Are American politicians afraid to take on Israel
As a veteran and American, I recall the similar murderous Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in 1967, in which the American federal government subsequently became complicit. I would ask of the president, senators and congressmen: Are you afraid of Israel? Do you have a superseding allegiance to Israel over your allegiance to America? Is subservience to the small foreign country, Israel, a condition precedent to holding American national political office? The American-Israeli relationship is now and has been a costly disaster for America and Americans. Great article by a true American patriot.

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