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Old 08-20-2009, 07:54   #1
Defender968
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Thumbs down Pan Am 103 bomber to go home

Amazing to me they would let this guy go, after all he showed no compassion to the 270 people he killed, they weren't allowed to go home to die naturally in peace. On a side note Momar Khadafi is sending his personal jet to pick this guy up, bet he gets a nice welcome when he gets home. IMHO a life sentence should end in prison.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540967,00.html

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EDINBURGH, Scotland — Scotland freed the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds Thursday, allowing him to die at home in Libya despite American protests that mercy should not be shown to the man responsible for the deaths of 270 people.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's condition had deteriorated from prostate cancer. Al-Megrahi had only served some eight years of a life sentence, but MacAskill said he was bound by Scottish values to release him.

"Our belief dictates that justice be served but mercy be shown," MacAskill said, ruling that al-Megrahi "be released on compassionate grounds and be allowed to return to Libya to die."

"Some hurts can never heal, some scars can never fade," MacAskill said. "Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive ... However, Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power."

Al-Megrahi, 57, was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison.

The airliner — which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York — blew up as it flew over Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the aircraft crashed into the town of Lockerbie.

The former Libyan intelligence officer was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison for Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. But a 2007 review of his case found grounds for an appeal of his conviction, and many in Britain believe he is innocent.

The White House said Thursday it "deeply regrets" the decision to free al-Megrahi.

"As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland," the White House said in a statement. "On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones."

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned MacAskill urging him not to release al-Megrahi, and seven U.S. senators wrote a letter with a similar message.

MacAskill said he stood by al-Megrahi's conviction and the sentence for "the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed on U.K. soil."

He said he ruled out sending the bomber back to Libya under a prisoner-transfer agreement, saying the U.S. victims had been given assurances that al-Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland.

But he said that as a prisoner given less than three months to live by doctors, al-Megrahi was eligible for compassionate release.

"I am conscious that there are deeply held feelings and many will disagree whatever my decision," he said. "However, a decision has to be made."

The families of some American victims were quick to express their outrage.

"I don't understand how the Scots can show compassion. It's an utter insult and utterly disgusting," said Kara Wepz, of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, whose 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti was on board Pan Am Flight 103. "It's horrible. I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse."

The Times of London reported Thursday that the private jet of Libya's leader, Moammar Gadhafi, was to collect al-Megrahi at Glasgow Airport after he was released.

Al-Megrahi's trial and conviction led to a major shift in Libya's relationship with the West.

Gadhafi engineered a rapprochement with his former critics following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He renounced terrorism, dismantled Libya's secret nuclear program, accepted his government's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families.

Western energy companies — including Britain's BP PLC — have moved into Libya in an effort to tap the country's vast oil and gas wealth.

Gadhafi has lobbied for the return of al-Megrahi, an issue which took on an added sense of urgency when he was diagnosed with cancer last year. His lawyers say his condition is deteriorating and doctors have given him less than three months to live.

The question of freeing al-Megrahi has divided Lockerbie families, with many in Britain in favor of setting him free, and many in the U.S. adamantly opposed.

British Rev. John Mosey, whose daughter Helga, 19, died in the attack, said Wednesday he would be glad to see al-Megrahi return home.

"It is right he should go home to die in dignity with his family. I believe it is our Christian duty to show mercy," he said.

But American families have largely been hostile to the idea.

"I'm totally against it. He murdered 270 people," said Paul Halsch of Perinton, New York, who lost his 31-year-old wife in the attack. "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was ... and that would be in a box."

Peter Sullivan of Akron, Ohio, whose college roommate Mike Doyle died at Lockerbie, said he believed Britain was putting commercial interests before the interests of the victims' relatives.

"The interest of big oil should not be the basis of a miscarriage of justice to let murderer of 270 people be released," Sullivan said.
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Old 08-20-2009, 08:09   #2
Saoirse
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I saw this last night and could only shake my head in disgust. Scotland is a dhimmi-country. Not surprising since the Church of Scotland accepted sharia law into the courts. It was also reported that families "forgave" him.

Fox news, this morning, is reading some of the letters from the victims families about this POS's release. It is heart wrenching and they are, indeed, becoming victims all over again. The POS has a motorcade to a private jet. But I guess he is "their" version of a rock star and no doubt, Defender you are right, he will have quite the welcome home. A hero's welcome?
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Old 08-20-2009, 08:22   #3
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Maybe....

Maybe if All the Families forgave him.
In the fashion of Braveheart, this one should be drawn and quartered. in public...
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Old 08-20-2009, 08:25   #4
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CPT Joe Curry, 10th SFG died in that bombing.
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Old 08-20-2009, 08:41   #5
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Apparently in Scotland, a life sentence doesn't include dying in prison. This walking bag of excrement has served only 8 years for murdering nearly 300 innocent people.
I think they already showed him mercy by not hanging him. I hope Scotland "the breve" doesn't get hold of any more terrorists.
I am absolutely enraged.
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Old 08-20-2009, 12:23   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Razor View Post
CPT Joe Curry, 10th SFG died in that bombing.
Joe Curry was a fine young officer and a friend. We attended the Q Course together. He was dedicated, proficient, and had an interesting sense of humor.
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Old 09-25-2010, 14:13   #7
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Joe Curry was a fine young officer and a friend. We attended the Q Course together. He was dedicated, proficient, and had an interesting sense of humor.
Dozer, I didn't know you knew Cpt Joe Curry. Joe and I worked together at Eglin Air Force Base, FL for a short time.
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Old 08-20-2009, 08:55   #8
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Originally Posted by Blitzzz View Post
Maybe if All the Families forgave him.
In the fashion of Braveheart, this one should be drawn and quartered. in public...

I have a better idea Blitzzz.

I think that he should be burned at the stake in front of the family members of his victims.

I'd pay an admission fee just to watch.

Last edited by mojaveman; 08-21-2009 at 09:28.
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Old 08-20-2009, 09:03   #9
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Why ?

I am a very simplistic thinking person and have a tendency to react rather than act. With that said, why is Al-Megrahi still alive? I have heard of people being killed in prison who have committed lesser crimes.

Why is Gadhafi still alive? Is it because he said he was sorry and started being friendlier to the American oil companies?

I f De Opresso Liber was the United States Motto it would read:

“ De Opresso Liber if your Government doesn’t let our oil companies in”
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Old 08-20-2009, 09:11   #10
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This story (below) "is" the real the reason they all died.....

I cannot believe scotland released the coward scumbag......

TS


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...975399,00.html
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Old 08-20-2009, 09:18   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlcoad View Post
I am a very simplistic thinking person and have a tendency to react rather than act. With that said, why is Al-Megrahi still alive? I have heard of people being killed in prison who have committed lesser crimes.

Why is Gadhafi still alive? Is it because he said he was sorry and started being friendlier to the American oil companies?
I suspect that he was isolated from the general inmate population like child molesters and rapists are.
Gadhafi's still alive because the AF missed him by a hair.
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Old 09-24-2009, 23:34   #12
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http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCan.../idUSN24480443

US rethinks plans to give Libya $2.5 million in aid

Fri Sep 25, 2009 12:24am EDT
By Arshad Mohammed

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said it is rethinking a decision to give $2.5 million in aid to Libya, including to foundations run by the Libyan leader's sons, after lawmakers on Thursday asked it to cancel the plan.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, two U.S. lawmakers said they were unwilling to give the aid because of the warm reception Tripoli recently gave a Libyan official convicted of involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

They also accused Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi of showing "flagrant disrespect" for the 270 victims of the bombing during his visit to New York this week to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

"The celebration that President (Gaddafi) recently held in honor of ... the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, showed just how little remorse (he) has for the terrorist attacks that killed 270 civilians," Rep. Nita Lowey and Rep. Kay Granger wrote in a letter obtained by Reuters.

Lowey, a New York Democrat, chairs the influential House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the State Department and U.S. foreign assistance. Granger, of Texas, is the subcommittee's top Republican.

While the State Department could reject their request, as a practical matter it is unlikely to do so because of the power that the appropriations committee has over its budget.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the department was rethinking the funding, which two sources said had included $200,000 each for two foundations run by Gaddafi's sons.

One source said one foundation promoted civil society and the other women's empowerment.

"The decision to appropriate the money was made some time ago but, in light of recent events, we will be taking another look at these decisions," Crowley said.

The "recent events" was a reference to the celebratory reception Abdel Basset al-Megrahi received on his return to Libya last month after being freed by Scottish authorities on compassionate grounds because of his terminal cancer.

'IT IS ALL OVER'?

Gaddafi's U.S. visit has upset some family members of the Lockerbie victims who resented his unsuccessful efforts to get permission to pitch a Bedouin tent he likes to stay in in Central Park and in two other sites near New York City.

On Wednesday, Gaddafi delivered a rambling 94-minute speech to the U.N. General Assembly that touched on everything from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to swine flu and denounced the powers of the U.N. Security Council, which he said should be called the "Terror Council."

....Gaddafi also said he hoped to build a new era of relations with U.S. President Barack Obama and wanted to put his nation's long conflict with the United States in the past.

"As a case, the Lockerbie question: I would say it's come to an end, legally, politically, financially, it is all over," the newspaper quoted Gaddafi as saying. "I would say, thank Allah, that this problem has been solved to the satisfaction of all parties. We all feel the pain for such a tragedy."

He also made clear his desire for his country to benefit from Western technology.

"Libya does need the technology of the advanced world," Gaddafi said. "And if Libya wishes to develop itself, it must cooperate with the developed world."
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