Handshakes have consequences.
Posted on 08/20/2009 3:53:54 PM PDT by SJackson
The United States is warning Libya not to make a hero out of the terminally-ill Libyan, convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, who was allowed to return home Thursday by Scottish authorities. The Obama administration says the decision to release Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was a profound mistake.
The United States is expressing deep disappointment and regret over the Scottish decision to release the Lockerbie bombing figure, and it has warned Libya not to make a hero of the convicted terrorist or face unspecified consequences in bilateral relations.
The decision by Scottish authorities to release Megrahi, said to be near death from prostate cancer, on compassionate grounds had been widely expected, and both the White House and State Department expressed regret over the move.
President Obama, in a radio interview, said the United States believes the release was a mistake and has conveyed that to the Scottish authorities - while telling the Libyan government Megrahi should not be welcomed back in any way and should be put under house arrest.
P.J. Crowley (file) At a news briefing here, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley said justice has not been served but rather undermined by the release, which he said sets a poor example for a world community trying to combat terrorism.
"What we're mostly concerned about is the mixed message that this sends in terms of those who have in the past, or those who might contemplate in the future, acts of political violence," said P.J. Crowley. "And that's why we have said very firmly and very strongly that as a perpetrator of one of the most heinous acts in recent history, that he should serve out his sentence and not be released."
In 2001, a special Scottish court convened in the Netherlands convicted Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent, of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.
A senior official who spoke to reporters here said the United States conveyed its dismay over the release to officials of both the British goverment and Scottish regional administration. He said while Scottish legal authorities were within their rights to free the Libyan, the U.S. views it as a profound mistake.
The official said Libyan diplomats were told Thursday in both Washington and Tripoli that Megrahi is not entitled to a hero's welcome, either now or in connection with Libya's national day observance on September first.
He said U.S. officials have told Libyan authorities the way he is treated will, in his words, potentially affect our future relationship.
In Scotland there is a village missing their idiot because they made him a judge.
William Wallace is not proud.
Handshakes have consequences.
I didn’t think she’d stay in that job until Labor day - she still might not. No way she lasts the year. Obama has f’d her so long and so hard that she doesn’t know which way is up any more. It will be interesting to see if she has any game left. As of now, she seems obsolete.
No, but the Colonel had an epiphany when Ronald Reagan sent a missile so close to his head that his bodyguards were heard to yell, "Khadafi--duck!" After which he renounced his nuclear aspirations. (Libs call that last fact "a coincidence.')
I wonder how many Libyans fell out of their chairs laughing at this warning from the Obama boy.
YEah, they said he was dying of prostate cancer. I had to wonder whether he was receiving regular prostate exams, and whether they caught it in time but he had to wait too long for treatment, so he’s dying. I expect the Libyans to file a protest against the Brits for medical malpractice.
This scum is getting a hero’s welcome as his plane lands and the US media has the gall to quote this ‘skell’ when he claims he is innocent of this crime. Can you believe that?
Why would you repeat his lie to millions of people, some of which are believing it.
Yes, but they're still worthy of criticism.
Personally, I think the President should have kept his mouth shut. What can we do?
Depends what happens. If health care fails as I sincerely hope, and there's a loss in the midterms, it makes sense for her to hang around, then say, I told you so. Lot's of dems would get on her wagon, and she might still be a formidable candidate, since she would be able to divorce herself from the Obama Presidency. And any foreign policy disasters, she's got the legitimate arguement that he locked her out. Don't know if she still has that ambition, but if she does she might be a legitimate anti-Obama primary opponent.
“Yes, but they’re still worthy of criticism”
Yes,you are correct. My post was not meant to excuse the officials, just to cast light on the enormous pressure coming from the changing complexion of Western Europe.
The NHS, amd the miracle of cost cutting, gave us this day!
OOOOOoooooo, “...unspecified consequences....”
That’ll put the scare in them. In the meantime, what with all of the discussion about health care recently, haven’t we all seen that the UK is one of the few places (unlike the USA), where prostate cancer has a death rate around 75%? Gosh, I wonder if oil-rich Libya can afford better care? Gosh, I wonder if doctors in Scotland that try to blow up airports diagnosed him as “terminal”?
I predict he’ll find quality health somewhere. I hope it’s not in the US.
We need to recognize that, but we don't.
The list, ping
Or else....what?
He wont be a hero, if he is actually dying from cancer, he will belt on an explosive homicide belt and become a martyr when he blows up himself and a whole bunch of innocents somewhere. That is my prediction.
I suspect Kenny MacAskill may suffer from BDS which would account for his decision.
He’ll say he’s been healed by Allah ... no cancer ... there was a large crowd welcoming him home .... in the meantime, Sirhan Sirhan is still in our prison ....
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.