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In the late 80s, Margaret Thatcher warned George H.W. Bush "not to go wobbly" on her; in the past week both the Scottish Justice Secretary and the government of the United States have "gone wobbly" in the fight against terrorism.

Let's review what happened on December 21, 1988. Pan Am flight 103 was en route from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's JFK carrying 259 people. They were citizens of 21 nations, among them students returning from study abroad, young families, honeymooners, United Nations officials, and members of the U.S. military. They all became unsuspecting victims of the most heinous terror attack prior to 9/11, their plane ripped from the sky by an explosion. The plane splintered into pieces and fiery wreckage was hurtled across over one mile of Lockerbie,...