10-06-2009, 07:05 AM
Thanks for posting that Magda. Great stuff.
There's no doubt remaining now that it was deliberate and a war crime.
The most common reasons cited seem to be that it was designed to divert attention from the massacre of Egyptian POW's or to place the blame for the attack on the Egyptians and thus provoke American retaliation. The latter seems unlikely as the forces opposing Israel had been destroyed by June 8.
In my opinion the attack was prompted by the State Department's announcement on June 5, at the outbreak of hostilities, that the US ïs "neutral in thought, word and deed". As childish as it seems, this statement caused great resentment to the hardcore supporters of Israel in both countries. In Robert Dallek's "Flawed Giant"(1998, pp428-429), the author recalls outrage from Jewish groups including the statement from the wife of close LBJ confidante and fundraiser Arthur Krim that Jewish groups could not easily forgive the "neutrality" statement.
Could such an outrageous war crime have been punishment for the neutrality statement from the State Department? Yep. That was their mentality, sadly. And of course, LBJ knew he owed his Presidency to them, and they knew he knew.
There's no doubt remaining now that it was deliberate and a war crime.
The most common reasons cited seem to be that it was designed to divert attention from the massacre of Egyptian POW's or to place the blame for the attack on the Egyptians and thus provoke American retaliation. The latter seems unlikely as the forces opposing Israel had been destroyed by June 8.
In my opinion the attack was prompted by the State Department's announcement on June 5, at the outbreak of hostilities, that the US ïs "neutral in thought, word and deed". As childish as it seems, this statement caused great resentment to the hardcore supporters of Israel in both countries. In Robert Dallek's "Flawed Giant"(1998, pp428-429), the author recalls outrage from Jewish groups including the statement from the wife of close LBJ confidante and fundraiser Arthur Krim that Jewish groups could not easily forgive the "neutrality" statement.
Could such an outrageous war crime have been punishment for the neutrality statement from the State Department? Yep. That was their mentality, sadly. And of course, LBJ knew he owed his Presidency to them, and they knew he knew.