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Peter Hounam
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Operation Cyanide: How the Bombing of the USS Liberty Nearly Caused World War Three Hardcover – May 15, 2003

by Peter Hounam (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
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The USS Liberty was attacked by unmarked planes and torpedo boats in international waters during the Six Day War between Israel and the Arab States. The attack on the surveillance ship lasted 75 minutes -- 34 men died and 172 were injured. Initially it was thought that either Egypt or the U.S.S.R. was responsible, but astonishingly Israel, the U.S.'s closest ally, said that the planes and boats belonged to them, and that they mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel -- despite the prominently displayed Stars and Stripes.

This hard-hitting investigation shows that on that day in 1967, the world came closer to all-out nuclear war than ever before -- this incident made the Cuban Missile Crisis seem tame by comparison. Peter Hounam reveals that the attack was part of a clandestine plan between the US and Israel known as "Operation Cyanide," designed to ensure victory for Israel in the Middle East. By blaming the attack on the Arab world, retaliation on a grand scale would be justified.

A massive cover-up has endured to this day -- the attack on the Liberty remains the only maritime incident that has not been investigated by Congress. But many survivors and senior government officials say that the attack was no accident, including Secretary of State at the time, Dean Rusk. Based on interviews with ex-government officers and the examination of official documents, this book answers the following questions: Why did the White House call back rescue planes from helping the Liberty -- twice? What was the CIA's role in this attack? Did LBJ know in advance about the attack? Why did the U.S. government accept Israel's explanation?

This book will shock any reader interested in Middle-East affairs, as it shows that the U.S. was prepared to -sacrifice its men and risk nuclear war to ensure victory for Israel.

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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vision
  4. Publication date
    May 15, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1904132197
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1904132196
  8. See all details
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Patrick J. Sullivan
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Social purpose of War
    Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    According to Karl Liebknecht (1871-1919) the real purpose of war is to "Subordinate the mass of ones own domestic population to exploitation at the hands of the dominant class."

    If we accept this as true, then can we reason forward from the known facts as to what may have been the real reason for the attempt to sink the USS Liberty?

    Fighter planes were dispatched from an aircraft carrier in the gulf, armed with nuclear bombs headed for Cairo to drop them. Because the Liberty did not sink, they were recalled.

    In the light of Peter Hounams excellent book, can we not surmise that the sinking of the USS Liberty was a planned triggering event that would lead to a much wider war?

    Frontlet 615 was the cover name for the project that involved the sinking of the USS Liberty and events to follow. Could that indicate something happening on June 15? 6-15? The attack on the Liberty was 6-8.

    Many have wondered "How close did we come to world war III when the Liberty was attacked?" Would it be too far out of line to consider that that was the very plan from the beginning, to bring us into world war III?

    Do we note the series of miracles that prevented the USS Liberty from sinking? 5 torpedoes shot at it with only one striking, the others going below and passing by? The 1 that did hit, luckily hit a reinforced stanchion. A few inches in either direction and the Liberty may have gone down. Miracle?

    How lucky was it that earlier 1 antenna was malfunctioning; It was in shut down and cooled off, thereby avoiding a heat seeking missile when the attack began? The USS Liberty was able to promptly tell the world of the attack upon them. How lucky was that?

    Several thousands of rounds of armor piercing ammunition and not one penetrated the boilers. How miraculous was that?

    From previous review:
    "As a God fearing man I have no doubt what so ever that the USS Liberty was kept afloat by the Hand of God. So what does that tell you about the people who attacked her? It should tell you loads."

    If Karl Liebknecht was right in his estimation of war as a tool of the dominant class to subordinate the mass of the ordinary people, then why has this nation built tens of thousands of nuclear weapons?

    Could it be anything other than the hand of God that has held us in? Less than a couple thousand well placed nuclear weapons would remove the mass of the people from the face of the earth.

    150,000 have been built since 1945. What other than the hand of God could explain why we are still here?

    Operation Cyanide-Why the Bombing of the USS Liberty nearly caused World War III is a must read for those seeking understanding of the nuclear armed world we live in.
    20 people found this helpful
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  • Richard Carpenter
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Motive
    Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This book supplies the motive that is missing from "Assault on the Liberty" by James Ennes and even from the USS Liberty veterans website. Those who dislike Israelis tend to fill in the missing motive something like the following. "Those awful Israelis want to rub our faces in it. They are brutal, cruel people. " Even if one dislikes Israelis intensely, this motive is completely unsatisfying. Why the Liberty? What could the Liberty spies know that airborne spies did not? Why would the Israelis CARE what the Liberty or any other spies knew? Israel had an enthusiastic supporter in Lyndon Johnson. Nothing the Liberty might have discovered would have reduced LBJ's support for Israel. Murdering prisoners of war? Israeli aggression disguised as victimhood? Nothing would have surprised the ruthless psychopath Lyndon Johnson. Even those of us who find the official story laughable, and dismiss the "accident" excuse out of hand, have always had to admit there was no good motive. Until "Operation Cyanide."
    In summary, "Operation Cyanide" was Lyndon Johnson's plan to set up the Liberty off the Sinai coast so the Israeli military could sink it and blame Egypt, or worse, the Soviet Union. Had the Israelis succeeded, Lyndon Johnson could have entered the war in the middle east. At worst, the war might have escalated to an all out nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Fortunately for all of us, the Israelis failed to sink the Liberty before the brave crew could rig up an antenna under fire and call for help. When the US Sixth Fleet received the Liberty's distress call and promised to send help, the Israeli forces had to break off their attack. They were stuck with the lame "accident" excuse. Operation Cyanide makes the Israeli side look better than the "gratuitous cruelty" motive. Perhaps they felt they had to go along with Lyndon Johnson's hare-brained scheme. In any case, the real blame belongs to Lyndon Johnson, the mastermind, more than to his Israeli henchmen. On the Israeli side, there might have been only a handful of people who knew the overall plan and were actual war criminals who deserved to be suspended. By a rope. Around their neck. Right next to Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara. On the American side, it appears the USS Liberty skipper was told to expect an attack and blame it on "unidentified" aircraft. He appears not to have expected the all-out attempt to sink the ship and murder the entire crew.
    Knowing Lyndon Johnson as we do today, "Operation Cyanide" is a "ho-hum, what else is new" story.
    13 people found this helpful
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