A survivor of the 1967 USS Liberty attack lays out why he believes Israel and the Johnson administration deliberately targeted the American spy ship — a decades-old story revived because of today's fights over Israel, Gaza, and US politics.

• The USS Liberty, a US spy ship, was hit by Israeli planes and torpedo boats for about 25 minutes during the 1967 war, killing 34 Americans and wounding many more.
• The survivor rejects Israel's "mistaken identity" excuse: the ship flew a large US flag, jamming the distress calls required knowing the target, and machine-gunning the life rafts broke international law.
• He believes it was a planned false-flag attack, pointing to a CIA counterintelligence chief tied to Israeli intelligence and claims that Johnson personally recalled US rescue planes, saying he would not embarrass an ally.
• The story is back in the news around its 59th anniversary, linked to anger over US weapons for Israel's war in Gaza and Lebanon, and to Thomas Massie's push in Congress for an open investigation.
• The account frames Israel's power in Washington as unusual — recalling a boast that a lobbyist could get 70 senators' signatures in a day — and compares the cover-up to the hidden Epstein files.

Outlook: Survivors want an open congressional investigation while a few are still alive to testify, but there is no sign one is coming.