Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Libyan weasels
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | Saturday, February 28, 2004 | editorial

Posted on 02/28/2004 9:45:44 AM PST by Willie Green

Edited on 04/13/2004 2:03:22 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

Now that everybody is done patting themselves on the back for bringing Libya into the world fold, the country's prime minister earlier this week said his government does not accept responsibility for blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.


(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: libya

1 posted on 02/28/2004 9:45:44 AM PST by Willie Green
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Willie Green
Hate to sound like I have tinfoil on my head, but Ive been skeptical of the idea that Lybia was soley responsible for the bombing of PA 103.

I still believe it was done by Iran, planned by Iran carried out by PFLP-GC and with the knowledge of Syria, where PFLP was based. All done in retaliation of the shooting down of the Iran Air A300 on 7/4/1988.

I believe we were moving in that direction until the Gulf War 1991, when the Bush 41 administration wanting an Arab coalition against Sadaam choose to ignore Syria's involvement so Syria would help against Sadaam.

Maybe Lybian agents had a role, but I dont think Lybia was a huge player.
2 posted on 02/28/2004 9:57:07 AM PST by raloxk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: raloxk
There were a number of reports in British newspapers at the time, that the killers or at least the organization of the crime originated in Syria in complicity with Iran. (Sunday Times among other sources - but prior to IT-era, therefore hard to get at.)

However, the US administration, Russia and the Europeans were bent on getting the Shamir government sitting down with Syria and Lebanon in Madrid negotiations. These countries were going to act as stooges for the PLO.

A Syrian involvement in the Lockerbie disaster would have been very inopportune...
3 posted on 02/28/2004 10:05:55 AM PST by ScaniaBoy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ScaniaBoy
The Madrid negotiations took place in the early 90s, just after Gulf War I.

Apparently that was the price Israel had to pay for the rescue of on arab country from an other evil arab invader.

At the time Arafat and PLO was far off in Tunisia, and there was no other danger travelling with bus in Jerusalem than the odd traffic incident.

After Madrid came Oslo...

ScaniaBoy
4 posted on 02/28/2004 10:13:34 AM PST by ScaniaBoy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Willie Green; raloxk; ScaniaBoy
The following may have been part of a game of "blame the dead guy to get the live guy off the hook", but it is plausible, and definitely relevant here:
Abu Nidal 'behind Lockerbie bombing'
BBC
23 August, 2002
"Abu Nidal said during an inner-circle meeting of the leadership of the Revolutionary Council, 'I will tell you something very important and serious, the reports which link the Lockerbie act to others are false reports. We are behind what happened'," Mr Abu Bakr is quoted by the newspaper as saying. Abu Nidal told the meeting that if anyone leaked what he had said, "I will kill him even if he is in the arms of his wife"... Tam Dalyell, a left-wing Labour MP, has long argued that the Libyans were not responsible for the attack and that it was carried out by Abu Nidal... Abu Nidal set up his headquarters in the Libyan capital Tripoli in 1987. He was put under house arrest when Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi came under pressure to crack down on militants after the Lockerbie bombing. Mr Abu Bakr has given a series of exclusive interviews to the Saudi-owned, London-based al-Hayat since the first accounts of Abu Nidal's death emerged. He has told the newspaper that Abu Nidal ordered the bomb attack on a Gulf Air flight from Abu Dhabi to Karachi in 1983 that killed all 111 people on board. He also said that his former boss plotted to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1989 with the co-operation of an Arab state, but then aborted the plan. And he has claimed that Abu Nidal was responsible for the 1986 attack on a West Berlin disco that killed two US soldiers and a Turkish woman, and wounded 260 others, provoking American air strikes on Libya.

5 posted on 02/28/2004 10:25:45 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Rub the OPEC states off the map just to be on the safe side.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: raloxk
Even in Arab terms, it doesn't make sense for Libya to keep denying being the sponsor after already having capitulated, unless there is some truth to the deal. Iran/Hezbollah/PLO involvement is very believable and consistent with their M.O.
6 posted on 02/28/2004 3:45:54 PM PST by thoughtomator ("What do I know? I'm just the President." - George W. Bush, Superbowl XXXVIII pregame statement)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson