On Sunday night, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed that the U.K. will suddenly adopt a get-tough policy against the Gaddafi regime, supporting compensation claims made by IRA victims against the Libyan government for its role in arming the Irish terrorist group.
It’s hard to know where to begin. Last month, I reported that there was a growing body of circumstantial evidence to suggest that the British government, despite its official silence, had been less than neutral in its attitude toward the release of the only person convicted of the 1988 Pan Am terrorist attack over Lockerbie, Scotland: Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi.
“Across the world, there is little doubt that the British government is perceived as responsible for the Megrahi affair.”
That body of evidence has now turned into an avalanche, all of it indicating that the British government was actively seeking the release of al-Megrahi, despite firm commitments given to the U.S. government in 1998-99 that whomever was found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing would spend their lives in a Scottish jail. The British government’s stated official position—that al-Megrahi’s release was entirely a matter for Scotland’s devolved administration and that it had no view on the matter—is now increasingly untenable. Indeed, many will conclude it’s shot to shreds. Consider the following:
View as Single Page 12 Back to Top September 6, 2009 | 6:04pm Facebook | Twitter | | | Emails | print Lockerbie, International, Terror, Andrew Neil The Daily Beast, British Petroleum, Bp, Macaskill, Pan Am, Abdel Basset Ali Al-megrahi, Lockerbie Bomber, Ira, Jack Straw, Justice System, Qaddafi, Libya, Scotland, Uk, Gordon Brown, Crime, Andrew Neil (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies Sort Up Sort Down sort by date: Embers
Libya and Qatar won't help Britain the next time they're attacked... but America will.
Flag It | Permalink | Reply 6:55 pm, Sep 6, 2009 robwriter
Looks like the "war on terror," like the "war on drugs" is really has money as the main subtext. Wow! What a shock. The revelations of political malfeasance, slime and corruption just never stop coming.
Flag It | Permalink | Reply 7:05 pm, Sep 6, 2009 OldCrow
Hard to believe the Obama administration wasn't informed of these negotiations. Will Obama have the guts to tell the families of those who were killed that he signed off on this deal? (or at least did nothing to stop it)
Flag It | Permalink | Reply 8:58 pm, Sep 6, 2009 jamestribe
Regardless of whether or not the British government did do a deal, it's amazing that America has the audacity to be upset. The back-room dealings done by the US are conveniently forgotten. Just look at Saudi-Arabia.
Flag It | Permalink | Reply 9:08 pm, Sep 6, 2009 finderj
Wow. Politicians for sale to the highest bidder? Guess the US isn't the only country with that problem.
Flag It | Permalink | Reply 10:11 pm, Sep 6, 2009 jamesoc
I don't see how you can drag the US into this mess; for the moment keep a focus -- though that is clearly difficult for this crowd. Say what you will about Tony Blair, but at least the man had a spine and stood for something. Brown just doesn't. Oil contracts?Worrying about your man dying in a British prison -- he was found guilty of murdering hundreds of people; dying in a British prison seems appropriate to me. Sad just doesn't begin to describe this affair. Pathetic really.
Flag It | Permalink | Reply 2:33 am, Sep 7, 2009 $('#c_total span').html('6'); $('#c_total').show();
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