BBC NEWS | Middle East | Why did Israel attack USS Liberty?

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Why did Israel attack USS Liberty?: "For former US seaman Gary Brummett, the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Middle East war has stirred painful memories.

As a 21-year-old third class petty officer, Mr Brummett was serving on board the USS Liberty off the coast of Egypt on 8 June, when, without warning, the vessel came under fire, first from fighter planes, then torpedo boats.

The attack, which lasted at least 40 minutes, resulted in the deaths of 34 of Mr Brummett's fellow crewmen, at least 170 injured and catastrophic damage to the ship.

Alarmingly, the assault had been carried out not by enemy forces, but by the US' closest regional ally, Israel.

Israel insists it mistook the Liberty for a hostile Egyptian ship, the El Quseir, and numerous US and Israeli inquiries have concluded the attack was accidental.

But for Mr Brummett and a growing body of conspiracy theorists, the authorities are guilty of a cover-up.

'I have more trouble with it today than when it happened because I know more of the facts about what was going on,' said Mr Brummett.

'There's been an egregious wrong done here, there's been an extreme number of lies told to the American people and the American people do not know the truth about what happened." Read complete post here.