USS Liberty

“Nearly as bizarre as the attack itself was the reaction of the American government to the incident. A foreign nation had butchered American servicemen, sending 34 to their graves. A virtually unarmed American naval ship in international waters was shot at, strafed with rockets, torpedoed, set on fire then left to sink as crazed gunners shot up the life rafts. The foreign nation then says, sorry about that, and offers an explanation so outrageous that it is insulting, and the American government accepts it, sweeps the whole affair under a rug, then classifies as top secret nearly all details concerning it.”

—James Bamford, author, Body of Secrets