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Speculative theory
USS LibertyAtlas
Government & Politics · Military & defense secrecy
The USS Liberty was operating as a signals-intelligence and surveillance vessel in the eastern Mediterranean. Accounts state that the USS Liberty was flying the United States flag during the attack and that visibility conditions were good.
Open the caseUSS Liberty4
- Official · Israeli air and naval forces attacked the USS Liberty, a United States Navy intelligence ship.
- Documented · The USS Liberty was operating as a signals-intelligence and surveillance vessel in the eastern Mediterranean.
- Documented · The USS Liberty was operating in international waters at the time of the attack according to multiple accounts of the incident.
- Contested · Accounts state that the USS Liberty was flying the United States flag during the attack and that visibility conditions were good.
Six-Day War1
- Official · Israel has described the attack as a tragic error amid the fighting of the Six-Day War.
Other4
- Documented · Multiple books, official materials, investigations, and media treatments have advanced competing explanations of the attack and any subsequent cover-up.
- Official · The attack involved Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats.
- Contested · Survivors and later critics allege that crew members were ordered to remain silent about aspects of the incident for extended periods.
- Contested · Whether the attack was intentional or a mistaken-identity friendly-fire incident remains disputed among officials, survivors, historians, and commentators.