Lockerbie Bomber released

[Idaho]

Thanks, never got to read an article as comprehensive as this one. So what did Khadafi do for Megrahi's family to have him fall on his sword for this? It's odd that any of those involved in this would want it dredged up now.

It's all so shady. We'll never know. Somewhere in various CIA/MI6/Mossad/Lybian/Iranian/Palestinian/Lizard Folk offices someone is no doubt busy with the shredder.

[LittleGrizzly]

I suspect he is either an innocent or a patriot following orders (this doesn't excuse crimes but makes it more understandable)

If he is truely innocent then he deserves every second of that hero's applause, lets us hope he lives a life of luxury for his final days on earth, god knows if he's guilty or not... but on the chance that he was innocent I wish him all the best....

[Hosakawa Tito]

He may be many things, but hero isn't one of them.

[Xiahou]

Sounds like some are claiming the release was a quid pro quo with the Libyans in exchange for oil contracts and other business deals.

The British Government is under pressure after allegations of an alleged trade deal behind the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdul Basset al Megrahi.

The Libyans are adamant Megrahi’s release has always been tied up with the oil and gas business and massive contracts with with British companies like BP.

Specifically Colonel Gaddaffi’s son Seif insists whenever he met British officials to discuss business, Meghrahi’s release was a condition of a deal being struck.

Frankly, nothing would surprise me at this point.

[Incongruous]

The consternation is laughable, how many mass murderers have the US and the UK kept safe and sound?

I'm surprised we didn't bang him up in some awful Richmond townhouse with a lifetimes worth of hihg living coupons, if oil was in the pipes.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

To be honest, I think the most interesting thing here is the constitutional issue. Namely, that the Scottish Executive took a decision with massive foreign policy implications without having any responsibility for UK foreign policy. That the Scottish Executive tried to foist the blame off on Westminster is both pathetic and laughable. On the one hand, under the Devolution agreement Westminster has no responsiblity for Scottish prisoners, and the SNP would have raised merry hell, had they intervened. On the other hand, this is clearly not a decision that Scotland alone should have taken when it affects the whole of the UK.

Fault in Devolution here.

[rotorgun]

Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands.

I always thought that was an odd thing about the trial. I guess it was because of anger in Scotland at the time, considering that some of the people killed where Scottish. The number of witness statements for the case was amazing-over 15,000. It certainly seems to me that Scotland went to great lengths to insure he got a fair trial, or at least that it had the appearance of fairness.

Those times were very trying. I remember the Lockerbie crash, coming on the heels of the Gander Crash three years earlier. There was a great deal of hostility in the United States then toward the Libyan government. I am sure that the Libyans had good reason to be hostile toward the United Sates as well. That the Libyans felt they owed the US for attacks made against then in 1986, had something to do with all this.

I was in Egypt 3 years earlier with the US Army during one of the Operation Bright Star exercises. The practice air raids by our navy were a dress rehearsal for the type of raid made against Libya. The Army's role was to act sort of as a desert base camp, along with portions of the Egyptian Army and Air Force. The equipment and aircraft set up was very much like the Libyan capabilities. The US Navy and Air Force conducted three days of mock attacks against our positions. The Egyptian Air Force, with their outdated F-4 Phantoms acted as interceptors to the raid, engaging in many low level mock dogfights with the A-6 and A-7 Attack planes. Circling high overhead, F-14s kept a constant vigil, occasionally mixing in with the F-4s. It was an interesting spectacle to watch from the ground,

I only brought that up because in 1986, President Reagan ordered just such an attack against Mummar Kadaffi's Libya. He narrowly missed being killed by the attack, although several of his family were killed. It wasn't hard for many Americans to believe that the Lockerbie crash was a retaliation. Even the Libyan government admitted responsibility for the bombing and turned over the alleged perpetrators, when asked to. Scapegoats they may have been, but Libya certainly didn't want any more attacks against it after the last one. If he was really innocent, then may he live in peace and be able to forgive us. If he is not, may he still find peace with his family until his death. The problem is, who can give peace to his victims if he is guilty-only God I guess.

[Duke of Gloucester]

To be honest, I think the most interesting thing here is the constitutional issue. Namely, that the Scottish Executive took a decision with massive foreign policy implications without having any responsibility for UK foreign policy. That the Scottish Executive tried to foist the blame off on Westminster is both pathetic and laughable. On the one hand, under the Devolution agreement Westminster has no responsiblity for Scottish prisoners, and the SNP would have raised merry hell, had they intervened. On the other hand, this is clearly not a decision that Scotland alone should have taken when it affects the whole of the UK.

Fault in Devolution here.

Surely constitutionally this is quite right, isn't it? The fact that a Scottish legal decision is isolated from political and diplomatic interference would be correct according to constitutional theory. Judicial decisions should be taken according to law and justice. Trade and realpolitik should not enter into these decisions. Of course they often do, but you can't criticise the constitution if it prevents this.

In any case the UK foreign office have played their hand well. They were worried about a re-trial and wanting to promote trade. They have encouraged the Scottish justice office just enough without putting their backs up and played on Kenny McAskill's doubts on the safety of the conviction and manouvered him in to making an unpopular (domestically and internationally) decision.

It is a shame that neither McAskill nor the FO gave any thought to the victims' families. This is par for the course for the foreign office but KM ought to have known better.

Strength of devolution (if you are English). England benefits and Scotland gets pariah status.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The consternation is laughable, how many mass murderers have the US and the UK kept safe and sound?

Okay, now I get it....

"Default" means default view that the governments of the US and UK are a bunch of vicious, self-serving ******** with no redeeming value. Must save time on the typing.....

[Incongruous]

Okay, now I get it....

"Default" means default view that the governments of the US and UK are a bunch of vicious, self-serving ******** with no redeeming value. Must save time on the typing.....

Okay!

Hmm, hae you been keeping up with history Seamus? Indeed the past three years are a good example of why not to beieve anything the government says.

Oh and my comment still stands, the consternation is laughable, whipped up by the corporate media for those who run Democracy inc.

[Louis VI the Fat]

- As with the death penalty, I waver between lust for revenge, and the wish for an element of compassion in our legal systems. I don't feel very strongly either towards releasing terminally ill prisoners or liflong sentences.

- I was very angry at the hero's welcome. Then again, when those two Norwegian terrorists have been bought free from the Congo, I think they will receive a hero's welcome in Oslo just like this terrorist received in Tripoli.

It's all so shady. We'll never know. Somewhere in various CIA/MI6/Mossad/Lybian/Iranian/Palestinian/Lizard Folk offices someone is no doubt busy with the shredder.

Shady indeed.

For those interested, and for a broader perspective, this case reminds me a bit of the Bulgarian nurses mystery. They were freed from Libya by Cecilia Sarkozy. After which it emerged that an arms deal with Libya was negotiated shortly after. The details are still not cleared up. Shady, shady.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=83826

On a more lighthearted note, when Italy struck a deal with Libya, in return Saadi Gaddafi - son of - got to play a few games in the Italian Football League. He is also the captain of the Libyan national football team, the chairman of the Libyan Football Association, and a worse player than me.

Aah..petty dictatorships, don't you just love 'em? Maybe the Americans are right, and bombs are an excellent substitute for haute diplomacy.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Disgusting, isn't it?

[Tribesman]

Disgusting, isn't it?

Really?

The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom”

Is that the same government that said it was in the national interest to suppress the evidence and block the legal appeal?
Could it be that they kept an innocent person in jail to use as a bargaining chip for a business deal.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Really?

Not really, no, just another lesson in international relations.

Is that the same government that said it was in the national interest to suppress the evidence and block the legal appeal?
Could it be that they kept an innocent person in jail to use as a bargaining chip for a business deal.

Could be.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Gadaffi's other son has received a resident permit in the UK. He'll be moving there soon. Does this mean we'll see him play for West Ham anytime soon?

SAIF GADAFFI, the son of the Libyan ruler, is moving his burgeoning media empire to London as he seeks to capitalise on blossoming trade ties with Britain.

Gadaffi, who escorted Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the freed Lockerbie bomber, from Scotland to Tripoli, has bought a £10m home in Hampstead, north London.

Staff at Gadaffi’s television news company, Al Mutawassit, are moving to the UK — with the first broadcast planned this week — and their boss is expected to follow. Ultimately, it aims to rival Al-Jazeera, the leading Arab news channel, with the launch of a website and newspaper.

Whitehall sources confirmed that Gadaffi, 37, had been granted a UK visitor’s visa that allows him to stay in Britain for up to six months.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle6814973.ece


Edit: This just in! Tottenham have bought him! They were looking for players to improve their squad.

[InsaneApache]

Disgusting, isn't it?

Not really. A couple of hundred dead yanks and brits for sqillions of barrels of oil sounds like a bargain. Another winner from our Great Leader.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Perhaps a few more cruise missiles down the Colonel's chimney might yield a more accurate version of the incident.

[KukriKhan]

Perhaps a few more cruise missiles down the Colonel's chimney might yield a more accurate version of the incident.

Heh. Or make him stay in a Manhatten hotel vs. pitching his tent in New Jersey when he comes here soon. That'll show 'im.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Heh. Or make him stay in a Manhatten hotel vs. pitching his tent in New Jersey when he comes here soon. That'll show 'im.

Actually, I believe setting up the tent in Thorden Park near Syracuse University might be a better spot.