Brief: With the anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War (SDW) between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria, Jordan now upon us, it’s timely to take another look at the origins and causes of that pivotal war, and with that examine in some detail the deliberate attack by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) during that conflict on the US naval reconnaissance ship the USS Liberty, with the loss of 34 lives and scores of casualties. To this day, despite irrefutable evidence it was a deliberate attack, the official explanation is that it was a case of “mistaken identity”. Along with showcasing one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. military history — and from there seek a measure of recognition, justice, redress and closure for the survivors and their families — it presents us an opportunity to place into broader, now ever more urgent relief, the history of America’s increasingly contentious and counterproductive relationship with Israel in addition to probing the role of both nations in events unfolding in and across the Greater Middle East. It moreover, invites us to reexamine the largely unexplored role played in these events by one of America’s most psychopathic and criminally inclined of Oval Officeholders. On all counts, author Phillip Nelson’s new book – to be released this week – Remember the Liberty: Almost Sunk by Treason on the High Seas, provides us ample context and perspective within which to contemplate all of this and more.