When the man convicted of murdering 270 people by blowing up Pan Am flight 103 two decades ago over Lockerbie, Scotland, was released, many in this country were rightfully outraged. On December 21st, 1988, 243 passengers, 16 crew members, and 11 people on the ground were murdered. Of these, 180 were Americans; 60 of them children.
The bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, returned to Libya on August 20th with much fanfare enjoying a “compassionate release” due to his imminent demise from cancer. He had served 8 years of a 27-year sentence. Moreover, he was given an unfathomable level of compassion that beyond outrage, has sparked even more controversy. (video below)
According leaked ministerial letters, Gordon Brown’s UK government made the decision after discussions between Libya and British Petroleum (BP) over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These challenges were resolved soon after Kenny MacAskill, Gordon’s counterpart in Scotland, made the formal decision to permit al-Megrahi’s release.
And while this peculiar coincidence is being openly discussed in the mainstream media, another controversy is beginning to unfold. Clearly, UK officials would not have released this mass murderer without at the very least notifying the Obama administration in advance. Although Obama condemned the welcome the Lockerbie bomber received in Libya, there is now growing concern that the Obama administration may have actually signed off on al-Megrahi’s release. This clip from Joe Scarborough’s Morning Joe on MSNBC today discusses the expanding series questions.
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This entry was posted by LukeAmerica2020 on Monday; August 31st, 2009 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, Corruption, Headlines, Videos, War on Terrorism.
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Tags: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, al-Megrahi, BP, British Petroleum, Gordon Brown, Kenny MacAskill, Libya, Lockerbie bomber, Obama administration, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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