Lockerbie overshadows Libyan coup anniversary

Associated Press ^ | September 1, 2009 | Sebastian Abbot

[george76]

Libya staged a lavish spectacle Tuesday, parading white-robed horsemen and gold-turbaned dancers as jets streaked overhead to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Moammar Gadhafi to power in the oil-rich nation.

The four-day festivities were designed to highlight the volatile leader's acceptance on the world stage, but were overshadowed by new controversies about the recent return of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. While African leaders held a summit to coincide with the celebrations, most Western leaders stayed away.

Libya's decision to include a video clip of al-Megrahi stepping off the plane from Scotland to roaring cheers could stoke even more anger. The segment, which lasted only a few seconds, came at the end of a video presentation chronicling Gadhafi's accomplishments since the 1969 coup.

Libya is now one of the world's largest oil producers and a key European supplier of natural gas.

Gadhafi will make his first visit to the U.S. later this month to address the United Nations in what was expected to be the culmination of years of effort to repair his international image.

George Joffe, a Libya expert at the Center of International Studies at Britain's Cambridge University, said while there has been outrage over al-Megrahi's release and homecoming, the West is clearly holding back its criticism of Gadhafi because they are interested in the country's oil.

Joffe said he doubted the controversy will have any real long-term repercussions. "My guess is within a matter of weeks the matter will have been allowed to blow over,"

[allmost]

Terrorists won, thanks obama/brown.