"In the case of the attack on the Liberty, it was the conclusion of the
investigatory body headed by an admiral of the Navy in whom we have
great confidence that the attack was not intentional. I read the record
of the investigation, and I support that conclusion"

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

"[A]t eleven o?clock we learned that the ship had been attacked in
error by Israeli gunboats and planes. ... This heartbreaking episode
grieved the Israelis deeply, as it did us."

President Lyndon Johnson

From Dean Rusk also (in the 1987 Thames TV production):

start
Dean Rusk: We did insist upon a full inquiry by the Israelis, and we
had our own naval board of investigation but what do you do with it?
The Israelis paid damages to the crew and their families.

Narrator: They [the LVA] say, Mr. Rusk, that there's been a cover up
for 20 years on behalf of successive American administrations to
examine and explore the affair.

Dean Rusk: Oh, I don't think so, I think it's simply that the feeling
that once something like this has happened you have to continue to work
toward constructive ends, and you don't allow an incident of this sort
to poison the entire relationship.
end

http://libertyincident.com/

Mike