NSA Secrets Declassified: NSA and the 1967 Israeli Attack on the Sigint Collector U.S.S. Liberty - Cryptologic History Report and Documents from the NSA Archive

This unique print replica reproduction presents hundreds of NSA formerly classified documents about the 1967 Israeli attack on the sigint collector U.S.S. Liberty, with the official Cryptologic History Report and documents from the NSA archive. Contents include chronologies, CINC messages, correspondence, Defense Intelligence Agency messages, DIRNSA messages, field unit messages, followup reports, Joint Chiefs of Staff Messages, National Military Command Center Documents, U.S. Air Force Messages, State Department Correspondence, Miscellaneous Memoranda and Reports, and photographs.

On 08 June 2007, the National Security Agency (NSA) finalized the review of all material relative to the 08 June 1967 attack on the USS Liberty. The attack on the USS Liberty, like others in our nation's history, has become the center of considerable controversy and debate. It is not NSA's intention to prove or disprove any one set of conclusions, many of which can be drawn from a thorough review of this material. Instead, through these public releases, we intend to make as much information as possible available for the many scholars, historians, academia, and members of the general public who find interest in analyzing the information and forming their own conclusions.

The foreword to the Cryptologic History report states: The Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty some 14 years ago was, indeed, a wrenching experience for U.S. Sigint agencies. The loss, particularly in the case of those Sigint specialists who gave their lives or were wounded, was difficult to accept. The knowledge that the tragedy resulted not only from Israeli miscalculation but also from faulty U. S. communications practices was even more difficult to accept. The passage of time has made it possible for the authors to reexamine the Liberty incident objectively and answer a number of persistent questions. The authors accordingly set forth the technical rationale for the Liberty mission, the particulars of the Israeli miscalculation, the details of the American communications failures, a narrative of the attack and of attempts to minimize the compromise of cryptologic materials, and the lessons to be learned from the event. Finally, this is also an account of the way the U.S. Sigint agencies organized their response to requirements brought on by a crisis situation. As such, it has much to offer the student of U.S. cryptologic operations.