US Boat to Gaza Will Launch Next Year

[Lars77]

(NEW YORK) - US BOAT TO GAZA has released an update report on their plan to send a U.S.-flagged ship as part of the next Freedom Flotilla sailing to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Representatives from the US BOAT TO GAZA have just returned from Geneva where an important meeting took place with representatives from Switzerland, Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Italy, Sweden, Malaysia, the Netherlands and The Free Gaza Movement.

The group has joined the steering committee of the Freedom Flotilla II and are now deeply involved as part of the international team planning for the next mission which will be leaving at the end of March 2011.



http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october192010/us-to-gaza.php

[Tripmann]

1. Lets hope for the sake of everyone on board it's not called USS Liberty

Actually, all snarkiness aside, a US flagged boat may be the only ship able to break the unlawful blockade without being illegally boarded and some of its passengers killed.

[oberliner]

2. Are you another who thinks the Liberty incident was a deliberate attack against the US by Israel?

I did not think to count you among that crowd.

[shira]

3. Oh come on, you're surprised? n/t

[Tripmann]

6. Not at all Oberliner. It was a tongue-in-cheek comment. I don't have the information to know whether

it was deliberate or not. However, its the only such attack that was never investigated by the US congress, and there are many conflicting accounts from the people who were actually there, which does little to abate the conspiracy theorists.

[oberliner]

8. Check this out

http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/declass/uss_liberty/recordings.shtml

I'd be curious to know what you think after looking over those documents, if you have time (they are pretty quick reading).

[Tripmann]

11. I read them before, along with any amount of information pointing to both conclusions.

Personally, I'm firmly on the fence WRT the incident.

[oberliner]

12. Are there any other alleged friendly fire incidents that you are on the fence about?

Or is it just this one?

[Tripmann]

13. I'd questions about Pat Tillmans death until the truth came out. Don't forget, most incidents are

investigated properly and to a conclusion, leaving little to sit on the fence about.

[oberliner]

14. Do you not feel that this incident was investigated properly?

American inquiries, memoranda, records of testimony, and various reports involving or mentioning the Liberty attack include, but are not limited to, the following:

* U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry of June 1967
* Joint Chief of Staff's Report of June 1967.
* CIA Intelligence Memorandums of June 1967
* Clark Clifford Report of July 1967
* Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony during hearings of the 1967 Foreign Aid Authorization bill, July 1967
* House Armed Services Committee Investigation of 1971
* The NSA History Report of 1981

[Tripmann]

15. The number of inquiries is irrelevant. Theres as much debate about the inquiries as there is about

the incident.

Anyhoo, like I originally stated, given the contradicting evidence and testimonies, I can't say either way. So I'm happy enough to be honest about it and sit on the fence. Maybe it was deliberate, maybe it wasn't. I'm not in a position to know.

[oberliner]

16. There is much debate about the flotilla incident as well

You seem less on the fence regarding that attack.

[Tripmann]

17. LOL! Nice try oberliner. Fog of war vs. Intentionally boarding a boat in international waters.

Good to know you respect the fact that I'm being honest about my view of the USS Liberty enough to try that shit on me.

Try it with one of the newbies next time.

[oberliner]

18. Not a "try" just an observation

There is a lot one can read with respect to both incidents that appears to be contradictory and uncertain.

Some people feel that there is enough information to conclude that the Liberty attack was accidental, but there are some who think otherwise.

Similarly, there is some debate about whether the IDF fired in self-defense after being attacked on the Mavi Marmara (which is their claim) or if they deliberately attacked the ship without being provoked (which is the opposing claim).

You seem pretty sure who is lying and who is telling the truth in that incident.

I'm not sure why you have such certainty in that case but not in the Liberty case.

[Tripmann]

19. And there are people who think the moon landing was faked. I'm more of an 'evidence' type of guy.

Incidentally, my position has always been that a full, independent, and unrestricted enquiry should take place to reveal the true facts of what happened on the deck of that ship. Until then, what we have is coroners reports, confiscated evidence by the people who pulled the trigger, a refusal to let the soldiers involve testify, and eyewitness statements.

You must have missed that.

[oberliner]

20. But the evidence that the USS Liberty attack was accidental is not convincing to you?

I am just wondering, with the recently declassified documents being released, what more you would need in order to get off the fence.

If you've read the transcripts in the link I provided, I don't see how that evidence isn't persuasive.

[Tripmann]

21. It's not a subject I dwell on much Oberliner. I'm also more interested in the documents you're not

allowed to see. Strange how this has forked off from a tongue in cheek remark. I'd have thought the fact that I'm not blaming israel (as the usual suspect inferred) would be more interesting than the fact that I really don't have an opinion either way.

Funny that.

[kas125]

4. It's not, it's called The Audacity of Hope.

[oberliner]

5. “It’s not about the aid,” Huwaida Arraf of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition told reporters in Geneva.

Good to know!

http://ustogaza.org/jerusalem-post-new-intl-flotilla-heading-to-gaza-in-early-2011/

[shira]

7. Odd how some don't think using civilians in a military operation to break the siege is a warcrime.

[oberliner]

9. At least the ISMers are honest

Delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians is not their goal and is not the goal of the flotillas.

They are political activists who are fighting for a political cause, and, in large measure, they have been successful in achieving some of their political objectives.

The dishonesty comes when people refer to those involved with these flotillas as humanitarian aid workers or the like.

[shira]

10. Agreed. n/t