Did Johnson Administration Allow the Attack on the USS Liberty and Why Essay

Did Johnson Administration Allow the Attack on the USS Liberty and Why - Essay Example As the report declares the Israeli fighter planes and torpedoes wrongly identified it as the Egyptian vessel El Quseir. Supporters of the official positions of both governments say that no believable reason existed for Israel to start a sudden attack against such a crucial ally. They also believed that such tragic mistakes were possible in the tense atmosphere of the Six Day War. Moreover, United States were worried about such dangers and made arrangements to move USS Liberty farther away from the coast. But, unfortunately the order was not delivered in time due to a failure in communication. This theory is credible considering the fact that several countries erroneously attack their allies during war which has been known as ‘friendly fire’. This paper discusses that several people believe that it was a premeditated and calculated attack. They argue that the USS Liberty was much larger than Egyptian vessel El Quseir and the ship was clearly designated with Latin letters and numbers. Generally, Egyptian vessels are marked in Arabic letters and numbers. The assistant secretary for defense in 2001, John Stenbit, says â€Å"The Israelis called us up one day and said, "If you don't get that ship, the LIBERTY, out of this place we're going to sink it in twenty-four hours." Reportedly, they couldn't tell the ship to move when they got the data back it was already under the water, and it took more than twenty-four hours for the data to wander in through the system and come out at the other end.†