Doubts remain about 1967 Israeli strafing

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- New information suggests Israel knew it was attacking a U.S. spy ship when jets strafed it in 1967 killing 34 men, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The new revelations also suggest the U.S. government covered up the incident to spare Israel's reputation, the Tribune reported Tuesday.

Four Israeli pilots later would claim mistaken identity in firing on the virtually defenseless USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, the fourth day of what became known as the Six-Day War. The Israeli pilots said they confused the distinctive U.S. Navy ship, floating in the eastern Mediterranean, with an Egyptian horse-cavalry transport that was half its size and looked nothing like it, the Tribune reported.

Declassification of government documents now strengthen doubts U.S. and Israeli authorities told the truth about the incident, the Tribune reported.

"I don't think you'll find many people at (the National Security Agency) who believe it was accidental," Benson Buffham, a former deputy NSA director, told the Tribune.