>Mullen warns against USS Liberty redux
>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:06:57
>
>
>The top American military officer has warned Israel against orchestrating 'USS Liberty Part II'
>to provoke a US-led war against Iran.
>
>In early July, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen visited Israel to
>discuss the Iranian nuclear program with his Israeli counterpart, Lieutenant General Gabi
>Ashkenazi, and other Israeli officials.
>
>During the talks, Adm. Mullen cautioned that the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in 1967 is
>the type of incident that should be 'avoided in any future military actions' in the Middle
>East, the Jerusalem Post reported.
>
>The USS Liberty, a $40m state-of-the-art surveillance ship, was 'inadvertently' attacked by
>Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats in international waters north of the northern Sinai
>Peninsula coast.
>
>The attack, which lasted at least 40 minutes, claimed the lives of 34 American soldiers and
>wounded at least 170 crewmembers.
>
>Although there are many conspiracy theories as to why Israel committed such a 'mistake' against
>its closest ally, former US seamen who served on Liberty claim authorities are guilty of a
>cover-up.
>
>American Free Press quoted Adm. Mullen as saying that it is very 'important' at this time that
>'history not repeat itself', referring to increasing speculation that Israel might stage
>another such scenario to push the US into a war with Iran.
>
>Israel, the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, accuses Iran, a signatory
>to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of pursuing a nuclear weapons program and threatens to
>take military action against the country should Tehran continue uranium enrichment.
>
>While Washington echelons are said to agree with the views of Tel Aviv on Tehran, the release
>of a Dec. 3 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) has rapidly weakened the prospects of the US
>participating in an attack on Iran.
>
>This is while, according to US and Israeli intelligence services, an Israeli strike would only
>'cripple' the Iranian nuclear drive and not destroy it.
>
>Israel is reportedly lobbying the Bush administration to launch a joint attack on Iran before
>President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009.
>
>In an Aug. 2 interview with the USS Liberty radio show, former army intelligence officer and
>CIA analyst Ray McGovern claimed Israel is planning a scenario similar to that of the 67
>Liberty incident.
>
>"It is obviously something bigger. The name of the game is to 'decapitate the Iranian nuclear
>program' whether it is aimed at a weapon or not," said McGovern.
>
>The war threats and speculation come despite the UN nuclear watchdog declaring that Iran is
>enriching uranium to 3 percent, a rate consistent with electricity generation.
>
>The most recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report conceded that there is no link
>between the use of nuclear material and the 'alleged studies' of weaponization attributed to Iran.