Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency (113 page)

202 Gabi Bron saw: quoted by Serge
Schmemann, "After a General Tells of Killing

P.O.W.'s in 1956, Israelis Argue
over Ethics of War,"
New York Times,
August 21, 1995. 202 Aryeh
Yitzhaki, who worked: His account appears in "Israel Reportedly Killed POWs
in '67,"
Washington Post
(August 17, 1995); "Israeli Killing
of POWs in '67: Alleged Deaths of Hundreds Said Known to Leaders,"
Newsday
(August 17, 1995). 202 One  of  his  men:  Barton  Gellman,   "Debate 
Tainting  Image   of   Purity Wrenches Israel,"
Washington Post
(August
19, 1995). 202 "I had my Karl Gustav": Schmemann,  "After a
General Tells of Killing P.O.W.'s in 1956, Israelis Argue over Ethics of
War."

202 "If I were to be put on
trial": Katherine M. Metres, "As Evidence Mounts, Toll

of Israeli Prisoner of War
Massacres Grows,"
Washington Report on Middle

East Affairs
(February/March
1996), pp. 17, 104-105.

202  Sharon... refused  to  
say:   Gellman,   "Debate  Tainting  Image   of   Purity Wrenches
Israel,"
Washington Post
(August 19, 1995).

203  "indirectly
responsible": Andrew and Leslie Cockburn,
Dangerous Liaison: The Inside
Story of the U.S.-Israeli Covert Relationship
(New York: Harper-Collins,
1991), p. 333; see also "The Commission of Inquiry into Events at the
Refugee Camps in Beirut" (Kahan Commission), Final Report, published as
The
Beirut Massacre
(Princeton, N.J.: Karz-Cohl, 1983).

203 he [Sharon] set off the
bloodiest upheaval: Deborah Sontag, "Violence Spreads to Israeli Towns;
Arab Toll at 28,"
New York Times
(October 2, 2000).

203 "Israel doesn't need
this": Gellman, "Debate Tainting Image of Purity Wrenches
Israel."

203 "The whole army
leadership"; "Israeli Killing of POWs in '67: Alleged Death of
Hundreds Said Known to Leaders,"
Newsday
(August 17, 1995).

203 not releasing a report he had
prepared: Naomi Segal, "Historian Alleges POW Deaths in 1956, 1967,"
Jewish Telegraph Agency (August 17, 1995).

203 lies about who started the
war: By at least lune 7, Israel was still lying about who started the war.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan continued to contend, "Arabs attacked
Israel" (Department of State, Secret/Limited Official Use, Chronology of
US-Israeli Consultations on the Middle East, May 17—June 10, 1967 [June 15,
1967]).

203 "any instrument which
sought to penetrate": Dr. Richard K. Smith, "The Violation of the
Liberty;"
United States Naval Institute Proceedings
(June 1978), pp. 63-70.

203  $10.2 million: NSA, Top
Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint Collector, the USS
Liberty"
(1981),
p. 64.

204  At 10:39 A.M., the minaret at
El Arish: U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Commander
McGonagle (June 10, 1967), p. 32.

204 "I reported this
detection": "Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames Television.

204 "an electromagnetic
audio-surveillance ship": Israeli Defense Force, Confidential, Court of
Inquiry Report, Decision of the Examining Judge, Lieutenant Colonel Yishaya
Yerushalmi (July 21, 1967).

206 "Between five in the
morning": Oral History of James M. Ennes, Jr. (November 12, 1998). (Unless
otherwise indicated, the oral histories of the
Liberty
crewmembers were
conducted by former Naval Security Group member Richard G. Schmucker.)

206  range of such guns: See U.S.
Navy, Top Secret/Limited Distribution/Noforn, "Findings of Fact, Opinions
and Recommendations of a Court of Inquiry Convened by Order of Commander in
Chief, United States Pacific Fleet, to Inquire into the Circumstances Relating
to the Seizure of USS
Pueblo
(AGER-2) by North Korean Naval Forces"
(April 9, 1969), p. 12.

207  "He longed for the
sea": Ennes,
Assault on the Liberty,
p. 11.

208  "I was told to be on the
lookout": Oral History of Charles L. Rowley (February 11, 1999).

209  "Process and
reporting": Lockwood interview.

209 "You'd better call":
U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Lt. (jg) Lloyd C. Painter
(June 10, 1967), p. 54.

209  "All of a sudden I
heard": Weaver interview.

210  "And then it happened
again": e-mail, Stan White to author (March 7, 2000). 210 "I
immediately knew what it was": interview with Bryce Lockwood (February

2000).

210 "absolutely no
markings": Oral History of Lt. (jg) Lloyd C. Painter (November 21, 1998).

210 "I was trying to contact
these two kids": U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Lt.
(jg) Lloyd C. Painter (June 10, 1967), p. 55.

210 grabbed for the engine order
annunciator: U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Commander
McGonagle (June 10, 1967), p. 55.

210 "Oil is spilling":
transcript of cockpit conversations, "Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames
Television (London), 1987.

210  "They shot the
camera": Rowley oral history.

211  "Any station, this is
Rockstar": Ennes,
Assault on the Liberty,
p. 74.

211  "Great, wonderful, she's
burning": "Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames Television.
211  "Hey, Sarge": Lockwood interview. 211  "We had a room where
we did voice": ibid.

211 "It was as though they
knew":
U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association
(Paducah, Ky:
Turner Publishing Co., 1996), p. 79.

211  "It appears to me that
every tuning section": oral history of David E. Lewis (November 10, 1998).

212  "Schematic, this is
Rockstar" ... "you son-of-a-bitch": Ennes,
Assault on the
Liberty,
p. 78.

212 "He's hit her a
lot": "Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames TV.

212  "Menachem, is he
screwing her?" "Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames TV.

213  "I said, 'Fred, you've
got to stay' ": Weaver interview.

214  "Horrible sight!":
White e-mail to author.

214 "I was running as fast as
I could": U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Lt. (jg)
Lloyd C. Painter (June 10, 1967), p. 55.

214 A later analysis would show:
NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint Collector, the USS
Liberty"
(1981), p. 28.

214 "He's going down low with
napalm": "Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames TV.

214  "It would be a
mitzvah":
A. Jay Cristol, quoted in "Seminar on Intelligence, Command and
Control," Harvard University, Program on Information Resources Policy.

215  "The captain's
hurt": U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Lt. (jg) Lloyd
C. Painter (June 10, 1967), p. 55.

215 "Pay attention":
"Attack on the
Liberty,"
Thames TV.

215 A later analysis said it would
take: oral history of George H. Golden (November 12, 1998). One report
indicates that several shots were fired at the torpedo boats from the starboard
gun mount on the
Liberty.
However, by then all gun mounts had been completely
destroyed. "The starboard gun mount was destroyed and the machine gun was
inoperable. I know this for a fact because I pulled one of my shipmates out of
that gun mount blown to bits and that gun mount was unusable. We never fired a
shot at the Israelis." Oral history of Phillip F. Tourney (November 9,
1998).

215  Commander McGonagle ordered
the signalman: U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of Commander
McGonagle (June 10, 1967), pp. 37—38.

216  "Stand by for
torpedo": NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint Collector,"
p. 28.

216 "Dear Eileen":
Lockwood interview.

216  "There was just a":
ibid.

217  "They told me that they
saw the torpedo": Raven interview.

217 "I did just as I was
told": oral history of Donald W. Pageler, by Joyce E. Ter-

rill (June 1987). 217 "We
knelt down and braced ourselves": White e-mail to author.

217  "I could feel a lot of
warmth": Weaver interview.

218  "We were laying
there": ibid.

219  "Do you require
assistance?": U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry transcript, Testimony of
Commander McGonagle (June 10, 1967), p. 39.

219 the torpedo boats continued:
oral history of Robert Schnell (November 21, 1998).

219 "They must have
known": Weaver oral history.

219 "I watched with
horror": Letter, Painter to Richard Schmucker (May 8, 2000). See also oral
history of Lloyd Painter (November 21, 1998).

219 "When 'prepare to abandon
ship' was announced":
U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association,
p.
80.

219 "If you don't go down
with the ship": Pageler oral history.

219  "As soon as the
lifeboats hit the water": oral history of Phillip F. Tourney (November 9,
1998).

220  "They made
circles": oral history of Larry Thorn (November 11, 1998). 220 "Our
biggest fear": Tourney oral history.

220 "We heard Israeli
traffic": Rowley oral history.

220 "told me that he wanted
to scuttle the ship": George H. Golden Oral History, November 12, 1998.

222 "Sending aircraft":
COMSIXTHFLT message (1305Z, June 8, 1967).

222 "Request examine all
communications": NSA, Top Secret/Comint Channels. Only message from DIRNSA
(June 8, 1967).

222 Eleven minutes after: A later
study determined that while NSA's special Criti-comm network, over which
CRITICs were sent, operated relatively well, the Pentagon's Flash system met
its mark only 22 percent of the time.

222 "The
Liberty has
been
torpedoed": NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint
Collector," p. 32.

222  McNamara called Carter at
NSA: NSA, Secret/Spoke/Limited Distribution, "USS
Liberty:
Chronology
of Events" (undated), p. 13.

223  "After considerations of
personnel safety": NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, Tordella memorandum for the
record (June 8, 1967).

223 "Captain Vineyard had
mentioned": ibid.

223 "a distinct
possibility": NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint Collector,
the USS
Liberty"
(1981), p. 57.

223 "If it appeared the ship
was going to sink": NSA, Secret/Spoke/Limited Distribution, "USS
Liberty:
Chronology of Events" (undated), p. 15.

223  "She was a
communications research ship": NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a
Sigint Collector, the USS
Liberty"
(1981), p. 48.

224  "destroy or drive
off": ibid., p. 31.

224 "Flash, flash,
flash": Ennes,
Assault on the Liberty,
p. 47.

224 Johnson feared that the
attack: letter, Christian to James M. Ennes, Jr. (January 5, 1978).

224 Ernest C. Castle: Later, about
6:30 P.M.
Liberty
time, before sunset, Castle made a feeble attempt to
fly to the
Liberty
aboard an Israeli helicopter. Out of uniform, without
any megaphone or any other means of communicating, he dropped an orange on the
deck with his business card tied to it. "Have you casualties?" he had
written on the back. A later NSA report remarked, "The bodies of three
crew members had not yet been removed from the forecastle and must have been
observed by those in the helicopter." (NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack
on a Sigint Collector, the USS
Liberty"
[1981], p. 34.) Commander
McGonagle testified before the court of inquiry: "There were numerous
blood streams the full length from the 01 level on the forecastle to the main
deck, at machine gun mount 51, where one body was still lying. I do recall that
now. With his head nearly completely shot away. As I recall now, there was also
another body in the vicinity of mount 51" (U.S. Navy, Court of Inquiry
transcript, Testimony of Commander McGonagle [June 10, 1967], p. 51).

224  NSA claims that it first
learned: NSA, "Attack on a Sigint Collector," p. 57; also, NSA, Top
Secret/Umbra, Tordella memorandum for the record (June 8, 1967).

225  Details of Rakfeldt and the
hot line: interview of Harry O. Rakfeldt (February 2000).

225 "We have just
learned": NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint Collector, the
USS
Liberty"
(1981), p. 32.

225  "Embassy Tel Aviv":
Department of State, Secret/EXDIS, Chronology of US-Israeli Consultations on
the Middle East, May 17-June 10, 1967 (June 15, 1967).

226  "President Johnson came
on with a comment": oral history of David E. Lewis (November 10, 1998).

227  "Do whatever is feasible":
NSA, Top Secret/Umbra, "Attack on a Sigint Collector, the USS
Liberty"
(1981), p. 44.

228  "If you ever repeat this
to anyone else ever again": Weaver oral history. 228 "I took a
crew": White e-mail to author.