Lockerbie bomber

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.

Britain dismissed suggestions of a link between the Lockerbie bomber's release and energy deals with Libya on Saturday, ...

London and Washington have condemned the 'hero's welcome' given to Abdel Basset al-Megrahi on his return to Libya after being freed from a life sentence in a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds because he is dying of cancer.

'The idea that the British government ... would sit down and somehow barter over the freedom or the life of this Libyan prisoner and make it all part of some business deal ... it's not only wrong, it's completely implausible and actually quite offensive,' said British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.

In Washington, FBI director Robert Mueller released an angry letter he sent to Scottish minister Kenny MacAskill, who ordered the release, calling it inexplicable and detrimental to justice.

'Indeed your action makes a mockery of the rule of law. Your action gives comfort to terrorists around the world,' Mueller wrote in the letter posted on the FBI's website.

The British may have had had a hint that the release of the bomber could create a public relations nightmare because ...

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office issued a copy of a letter he wrote to Gaddafi on Aug. 20 expressly asking him to refrain from a 'high-profile' welcome for Megrahi.

That request was ignored

Gaddafi met Megrahi on Friday, embracing him and getting a kiss on the hand in return. The beaming Libyan leader expressed gratitude to Brown and Queen Elizabeth.

More than 1,000 Libyans gathered at an airport in Tripoli on Thursday to welcome Megrahi home, cheering and waving national flags, despite the fact relatives of the American victims said they had received assurances there would be no hero's welcome.

And while British officials went into full bare-faced lie mode, Gaddafi gave the more believable story for the reason behind the release.

'This step is in the interest of relations between the two countries...and of the personal friendship between me and them and will be positively reflected for sure in all areas of cooperation between the two countries,' he told Libyan TV.

His son Saif al-Islam went further, saying that whenever he had met British officials to discuss business, the issue of Megrahi's release was a condition of any deal being struck.

Mandelson said he had met Gaddafi's son twice in the past year and the issue of the Lockerbie bomber had been raised both times, but his release was not tied to business deals.

'It's not only completely wrong to make any such suggestion or insinuation, it's also quite offensive,' he told reporters.

The Daily Mail headline:
Gaddafi embraces Lockerbie bomber and thanks his 'courageous friend' Gordon Brown for releasing him

The growing sense of unease in Downing Street intensified today after Col Gaddafi praised 'my friend' Gordon Brown and the British Government for their part in securing Megrahi's freedom.

'To my friends in Scotland, the Scottish National Party, and Scottish prime minister, and the foreign secretary, I praise their courage for having proved their independence in decision making despite the unacceptable and unreasonable measures that they faced. Nevertheless they took this courageously right and humanitarian decision,' he said.

Implicating the British royal family:

'And I say to my friend Brown, the Prime Minister of Britain, his Government, the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to take this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles.'

Defending the release on compassionate grounds, members of the Scottish government spokesman said all the proper procedures were followed, as was Scottish law:

...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.