Posted on 08/23/2009 6:18:27 AM PDT by moneyrunner
It's time for a reality check.
In what country is it customary to release killers from prison if they have a fatal illness?
It has been quite a while – the better part of a decade - since the once-“Christian” West has been reminded that the Moslem world does not share our moral strictures. The release of the Lockerbie bomber and his hero’s reception in Tripoli for blowing a passenger plane filled with Westerners out of the sky with a bomb is a jarring reminder, to me at least, that the hate that bloodlust that was behind 9/11 is not past. And it also reminds us that it is not an evil restricted to Osama bin Laden or the Taliban.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, a Lybian intelligence agent, is the only person convicted of the bombing, in which a Pan Am jet carrying 259 passengers -- most of them American -- was blown up over Lockerbie in Scotland in December 1988, killing all those on board and 11 people on the ground.
I have no doubt that the people who are responsible for Abdel Basset al-Megrahi’s release did not expect the public adulation that he received. Now they’re in clean-up mode.
Gaddafi hugs Lockerbie bomber; Britain denies deal.
(Excerpt) Read more at moneyrunner.blogspot.com ...
...a Scottish government spokesman said the decision was reached following proper procedures.
"The justice secretary reached his conclusions on the basis of Scotland's due process, clear evidence, and the recommendations from the parole board and prison governor," the spokesman said.
"Compassionate release is not part of the US justice system but it is part of Scotland's," he added.
"Mr MacAskill could not have consulted more widely -- he spoke with the US families, the US attorney general, Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton and many others.
"Mr Megrahi has been sent back to Libya to die a convicted man."
It appears that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder, and a host of other US officials have some explaining to do. And perhaps we can inquire of noted Scottish Law expert Arlen Spector about compassionate release of mass murderers under Scottish law.
It has been said that Obama gave Gordon Brown the green light to release the bomber.
Who could forget Scottish Law. Arlen Specter was an adherent during the Senate impeachment vote.
Actually, we can expect to see more of this as Obamacare takes over in more parts of the world, and the local “death panel” starts shipping really sick people back to their country of origin.
Amazing miracle...dude makes a miraculous recovery
wait for it....wait for it
(sarc)
As does the American media for not even bothering to ask anyone at State or in the Administration about this shameful act. Imagine letting a terminal Jeff Dahmer go (yes I know he's dead) or letting a terminal Unibomber go, or letting a terminal John Wayne Gacy go. This is disgusting on any level and the US should be on record vehemently opposing this release. There is no other acceptable answer.
Did you consider that maybe the people in Libya were cheering, not because of bloodlust, but because they think al-Megrahi is innocent?
Not once....not ever. Do you really believe he is innocent yourself? propaganda in Libya might be real, but not here in the States or over in Scotland.
What do you think?
First of all I think the focus of all righteous anger against this one person is bizarre, since, even if al-Megrahi was involved in planting the bomb, this obviously was an act that was planned at a higher level, possibly involving the intelligence agencies and even the leaders of one or more countries. I have not heard of any evidence that al-Megrahi was the one who conceived of the plot to blow up Pan Am 103. Why is is no one else being held to account for this?
(Part of the answer appears to be that an agreement was made not to pursue any other Libyans when al-Megrahi and a co-defendant were turned over.)
Secondly, although I used to believe that there was a clear case against al-Megrahi, the more I read about the trial (and I have not consulted conspiracy theory websites) the more I wonder if the case against al-Megrahi is really so open and shut. Even one of the prosecutors now seems to think there were serious problems with the main witness who linked al-Megrahi with the clothing in the exploded suitcase. Despite the expense and length of the trial, a lot of it seemed to focus on information that was only tangential to the question of al-Megrahi's guilt. Apparently Scottish authorities had concluded that there was enough doubt to grant al-Megrahi an appeal.
It is not hard to see how these doubts could form the basis for many Libyans thinking that al_Megrahi was innocent, without this being motivated by "bloodlust".
Lastly, I find it hard to believe that the downing of Pan Am 103 is completely unrelated to the shooting down of an Iranian passenger aircraft by the United States only five months earlier. Is it likely that Iranian authorities would just forgive the United States for this action, even though it was accidental?
No, the Iranians would have responded. They would have responded within a few months. They would have responded in a proportional way. And they would have sought to divert attention away from themselves.
You never really answer the question, do you?
First of all I think the focus of all righteous anger against this one person is bizarre
Do you think that anger at the release of a mass murderer to a hero’s welcome is not righteous; or as you put it bizarre?
Even if al-Megrahi was involved in planting the bomb, this obviously was an act that was planned at a higher level, possibly involving the intelligence agencies and even the leaders of one or more countries. I have not heard of any evidence that al-Megrahi was the one who conceived of the plot to blow up Pan Am 103. Why is is no one else being held to account for this?
To state something so obvious that you apparently overlooked it, perhaps it’s because you can’t send the cops in to arrest a head of state unless you invade his country and defeat his army.
So let’s see if I get your thinking: Libya sends al-Megrahi to stand trial because they know he’s innocent and figure that will come out at the trail and that will satisfy the governments involved. Is that your reasoning?
And finally, you thing that we deserved the downing of Pan Am 103 because an American cruiser accidentally downed an Iranian airliner? “The chickens coming home to roost” as the Reverend Wright so eloquently put it? Is that about right?
Are you a member of the Obama administration? This kind of reasoning makes you a perfect candidate for a high level position.
If you actually read my previous post, you will see that I did answer that question.
Do you think that anger at the release of a mass murderer to a hero’s welcome is not righteous; or as you put it bizarre?
I didn't say that the anger was not righteous. As I said the bizarre aspect IMHO comes from the sole focus on one individual while forgetting that there are most likely others with even greater culpability.
To state something so obvious that you apparently overlooked it, perhaps it’s because you can’t send the cops in to arrest a head of state unless you invade his country and defeat his army.
You are assuming that there was no one involved in the plot besides the head of state of Libya and al-Megrahi. Let us suppose that Gaddafi was involved, should we not at least issue an indictment, or at least discuss the implications of this? And what if the act was actually perpetrated by Iran, or was done by Libya at the behest of Iran? In the case of 9/11, don't we want to round up (or otherwise mete out justice to) absolutely everyone who was involved in the plot?
So let’s see if I get your thinking: Libya sends al-Megrahi to stand trial because they know he’s innocent and figure that will come out at the trail and that will satisfy the governments involved. Is that your reasoning?
No. It is well known that Libya turned over al-Megrahi and Fhimah as part of a deal with the United States that involved the lifting of sanctions and the resumption of trade. So Libya had a reason to turn these people over whether they were guilty or not. Fhimah was found not guilty at trial.
And finally, you think that we deserved the downing of Pan Am 103 because an American cruiser accidentally downed an Iranian airliner?
I didn't say that and you know I did not. I don't believe in an eye-for-an-eye. But I'm sure that many persons in the government of Iran do. I don't think they would have been satisfied with doing nothing despite knowing that the Iranian airline downing was accidental.
Now I will ask you a question. Do you think that the fact that Pan Am 103 came just a few months after the Vincennes incident is just a coincidence?
so a guy is found guilty and it’s ok to let him go even though Iran might be behind this? Not buying the decision ....never will.
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