Lockerbie release: So much for “smart diplomacy.” So much for “surprised.”

By Michelle Malkin  •  July 26, 2010 09:37 AM

Here is what Team Obama’s “smart” and sensitive form of diplomacy has wrought: A hero’s welcome home to Libya for the murderous Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was released last August claiming he had terminal cancer and three months to live. A year later, the jihadist is still alive, senators want an investigation, and The Australian reports that the Obama administration backed “compassionate release.”

HE US government secretly advised Scottish ministers it would be “far preferable” to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya.

Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was freed in August last year on grounds that he had terminal cancer.

The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama’s claim last week that all Americans were “surprised, disappointed and angry” to learn of Megrahi’s release.

Scottish ministers viewed the level of US resistance to compassionate release as “half-hearted” and a sign it would be accepted.

LeBaron’s letter was, in essence, a shrug of the Obama administration’s shoulders. Message: Who cares?

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air blasts White House incompetence:

The letter did not give a green light to Megrahi’s parole to Libya. Nevertheless, it shows the kind of ineptitude that has plagued the Obama administration’s diplomacy from the “reset button” with Russia to this day. LeBaron’s note was a clear signal to Scotland that the US had lost most of its interest in Megrahi; recall that the US had insisted originally that any parole must include extradition to the US. The Scottish government must have presumed that we would not strenuously object to their release of Megrahi to the Libyans after LeBaron failed to raise that point and demand Megrahi’s extradition.

Also, it shows that the Obama administration lied about being surprised by Megrahi’s release. They knew it was coming, and while they may have been surprised that he went to Libya, the White House knew Scotland was going to spring Megrahi one way or the other.

Yes. Liars. You’ve been called out.

***

Previous Lockerbie posts.

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Comments


  1. #1
    On July 26th, 2010 at 9:48 am, DogBreath said:

    Obama mentor Bill Ayers could not be reached for comment.

  2. #2
    On July 26th, 2010 at 9:55 am, tarpon said:

    How does Obama think the lies won’t be noticed? Even the journOlists can’t fix that.

  3. #3
    On July 26th, 2010 at 9:58 am, John Deaux said:

    I’m willing to bet that nothing will come of this.

  4. #4
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:01 am, Roland said:

    How does Obama think the lies won’t be noticed?

    He’s been lying his ass off all his life. That strategy has gotten him to the Presidency of the United States of America, the most powerful position any person has ever achieved in the History Of The Planet.

    So why on Earth would he stop???

  5. #5
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:03 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

    Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

    I’m sure the bodies of the victims strewn all over find it most palatable.
    No justice, no peace.

  6. #6
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:15 am, Anita said:

    Where have you been MM? I miss the old MM – leading the blogosphere. Hope everything ‘s ok.

  7. #7
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:17 am, prendad said:

    Obama lying? So, tell me something I don’t know. He is a pathological liar and, yes, he doesn’t even care.

  8. #8
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:18 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise.

  9. #9
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:19 am, Pasadena Phil said:

    This confirms suspicions that surrounded Megrahi’s release that a deal that was struck between the UK, US and Libya for the purposes of securing the oil rights off of Libya. It is not a coincidence that on the very week BP begins drilling there, this news comes out. Someone in the UK/Scottish diplomatic ranks wants the record set straight.

    That’s what happens when a super-power and behaves weakly and treats its allies badly.

  10. #10
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:20 am, Flyoverman said:

    If play for pay with BP is not involved, I will eat my car.

  11. #11
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:25 am, stillontheroad said:

    “considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.” How very Crypto Islamo of our fearless leader — now how does this reflect on the Prisons here -Any Mass Murdering vermin with Cancer? Any plans to let them go in the States they resided in rather than sending them to prison?

  12. #12
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:29 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:15 am, Anita said:

    Where have you been MM? I miss the old MM – leading the blogosphere. Hope everything ‘s ok.

    MM gave us a heads up here and again here that we should expect a decrease in her blog posting this summer as she spends time with family and taking care of personal business, and

    “guest-blogger Doug Powers will be joining us and pitching in more regularly to keep you entertained, informed, and enlightened.”

    Unless she tells us otherwise, assume that MM is doing fine. She is still producing great posts, just not as prolifically as she does during the school year.

  13. #13
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:33 am, Lindsay said:

    But…Dear Leader forgets what he said before and denies it to himself (his mirror says he would never, evah, say anything this stupid or controversial off teleprompter!).

    I know the answer! He “misspoke.”

  14. #14
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:40 am, J S Ragman said:

    I saw an interesting bumper sticker this past weekend in northern Virginia:

    One
    Big
    Ass
    Mistake
    America

    Tee,hee.

  15. #15
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:46 am, nail49 said:

    One
    Big
    Ass
    Mistake
    America

    Not nice to fool with Michelle “O”!!!
    Ragman

  16. #16
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:47 am, Savage24 said:

    I don’t think that this administration gives a damn if we know they are lying or not. They have the “useful idiots” and these people can be lead by the nose, no matter what the truth is. These are the same people that tell us “the truth will set you free”, but they fear the truth.

  17. #17
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:49 am, Anita said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:29 am, ITookTheRedPill said:
    MM gave us a heads up here and again here that we should expect a decrease in her blog posting this summer as she spends time with family and taking care of personal business.

    I get that. Still, I would love MM leading on the recent bombshell stories, like “Journolist”.

  18. #18
    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:56 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

    I saw the bumpersticker this morning of the Obama as the Joker face with “Why so socilaist?” underneath. Got a nice little chuckle at that during my morning commute.

  19. #19
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:06 am, sbw999 said:

    Un-pucking-believable.

  20. #20
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:08 am, ThackerAgency said:

    I have a hard time crediting Morrissey for anything. . . especially knowing how hard he was sucking off Musharraff while Pakistan was supporting our enemies. Of course, today he has a post saying ‘of course we all knew this’. He didn’t know it then even when I was pointing it out ad nauseum on his sites and his posts.

    Nonetheless, he’s Catholic and I know because of that, he’s ‘superior’ and as such MM thinks he’s amazing. Although story he took from the conservative conference was about him instead of the person who won the caucus. I imagine there might be some redeeming value for his ‘journalism’ at some point.

    But this particular episode shows a problem. Obama’s administration thinks that the key to leading is see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil. If you say something against him, attack him. If you support him (even in a lie) you get promoted. That type of operation can’t last.

    I can’t wait to read the tell alls at the end of this administration. We are all going to be appalled at the steps the administration has taken because of the misunderstanding on Obama’s part concerning what powers the President has. When he realizes he can’t do anything, he tries to figure out a way to give the President the powers that the president doesn’t have.

    I don’t care how many lawyers you have. . . at some point, you are going to go WAY to far. The Lockerbie bomber seems like an example where Obama favors non-Americans to Americans.

  21. #21
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:10 am, rocketman said:

    ***
    Too bad some of Mel Gibson’s BRAVEHEART movie justice wasn’t applied to the Lockerbie bomber. Scots used to do a better job of handling murderers.
    ***
    Or tie him to a post in the field where the plane fell and let the victims family members take care of the “execution”–over the next few days.
    ***
    “Touchy–Feely” justice isn’t working out too well.
    ***
    John Bibb
    ***

  22. #22
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:17 am, orlandocajun said:

    As far as I’m concerned, the hero’s welcome gathering for the terrorist was a missed opportunity for a drone strike.

  23. #23
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:18 am, pueblo1032 said:

    As GOMER PYLE would say, “SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!! What a GREAT AMERICAN… Shocked, shocked I say!!!

  24. #24
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:21 am, Lindsay said:

    There is a growing need for a new Czar appt: Liar Czar?

  25. #25
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:25 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:49 am, Anita said:

    I get that. Still, I would love MM leading on the recent bombshell stories, like “Journolist”.

    The video below is from March 2007, but it explains the Journ“O”lists perfectly…

    Evan Sayet explains how and why people like the Journ“O”lists choose what stories to write about, and how to write about them.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE98w1KZ-c

    And here’s an interesting recent video done by the Hillbuzz folks…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4BkADzQWeU

  26. #26
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:26 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:17 am, orlandocajun said:

    As far as I’m concerned, the hero’s welcome gathering for the terrorist was a missed opportunity for a drone strike.

    That would have been Reagan’s style.

  27. #27
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:27 am, Pasadena Phil said:

    The victims who died were almost all Americans. BP gets its oil rights in Libya. Quaddafi gets to parade a terrorist in public as a direct insult to America.

    I see what Libya got in the deal. I see what BP and to a large extent, what Britain got in the deal. What did the US get other than 290 dead Americans? Was this another of those Obama signals to the Islamists that things are different now?

  28. #28
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:37 am, cheapseat said:

    Exactly Phil! What does America get from it’s State Dept, and the u.n. THE RIGHT TO FIGHT ALL THE WORLD’S WARS, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY TO REBUILD ALL THE WORLD’S S**THOLES. WHAT A DEAL.

  29. #29
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am, right_on said:

    I can see it now…

    “…these unwarranted attacks on President Obama’s integrity are nothing more than elitist white men practicing what they do best…racist demogoguery!” With the help of Fox News, no doubt….

    They have nothing left to use, except the exercise of tyrannical power.

  30. #30
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:49 am, Truesoldier said:

    Perhaps the Obama administration had been hoping to get BP oil being drilled off the coast of Libya….

  31. #31
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:53 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:27 am, Pasadena Phil said:

    Was this another of those Obama signals to the Islamists that things are different now?

    Yes.

    We must remember that Obama confessed his belief in Islam

    Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent.In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it’ll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”

    What are the opening lines of that call to prayer?

    The Adhan, the call to prayer, begins with:
    four recitals of the words “Allahu Akbar
    ([translated] “Allah is The Greatest”),
    followed by two recitals each of [translated]
    I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah”, and
    I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.

    That is what Obama confessed with his own mouth, in Arabic.

  32. #32
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:54 am, rambler said:

    Character matters. Too bad Bho never learned that.

  33. #33
    On July 26th, 2010 at 12:16 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    That is what Obama confessed with his own mouth, in Arabic.

    Oh, and saying, “I am a Christian” does not make you a Christian.

    What does? Read Romans 10:9.

    Obama hasn’t done that. Obama has confessed with his mouth:

    I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah.
    I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
    .

    But Obama has never publicly confessed with his mouth:

    Jesus Christ is Lord.

    Anyone who believes Obama is a Christian, is willfully ignoring this truth.

  34. #34
    On July 26th, 2010 at 12:20 pm, IndyRich said:

    who was released last August claiming he had terminal cancer and three months to live. A year later, the jihadist is still alive

    It’s a freakin’ miracle!!! I wonder when Michael Moore will waddle his fat a$$ over to Libya for filming “Sicko 2″?!? Obviously, Libya’s health care system is also a model the US must follow. I wonder if Fidel is pissed?

  35. #35
    On July 26th, 2010 at 12:33 pm, Dexter Alarius said:

    he had terminal cancer and three months to live.

    The months he meant were Ramadan 2010, Ramadan 2020 and Ramadan 2030.

  36. #36
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:08 pm, thejim said:

    There is no mystery, no surprise in Obambi lying, nor in the media covering for him. The media has made this administration possible, and aided his every distructive act. The question is: How do we stop THEM both?

  37. #37
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:16 pm, USMCgramma said:

    We were on Pan Am 103 in 1986. Heathrow was socked in with fog and filled to the brim with waiting people. The lady sitting next to me (from Canada) asked if I understood why the msg on the loud speaker kept repeating “Any unattended baggage will be removed and destroyed.” I was ignorant of the evil surrounding us then. She wasn’t. Today, twenty-four years later, our grandson is in Afghanistan under a passive administration. Have we not learned anything?

  38. #38
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:39 pm, vinny said:

    Michelle,
    Last year in August I wrote in a comment on your blog that this terrorist would be alive for years to come. Just from watching how he came off the plane, it was obvious that he wasn’t about to die from prostate cancer. People who are in imminent danger of dying from this cancer are not walkin about.

    I also posed a question: What did Scotland get for releasing the terrorist? I also had serious doubts about Obama administration not being briefed about freeing terrorists, and I am certain that some in Obama’s administration were very pleased when he flew to Lybia. I wonder if any of them had an active role fascilitating his release.

  39. #39
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:41 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Yes. Liars. You’ve been called out.

    Obama is a liar but he did say he would always take the muslim side.

  40. #40
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:48 pm, walterc said:

    Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was released last August claiming he had terminal cancer and three months to live.

    If I remember right, he was sentenced to life in prison. that means he doesn’t get out until he’s dead. That’s what life in prison means.

    The only reason this was ever even discussed, much less acted on, was someone was getting something under the table. I’m of the opinion that there’s some pretty high level people in England, Scotland, and the U.S. that own a chunk of BP stock.

  41. #41
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:55 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    The only reason this was ever even discussed, much less acted on, was someone was getting something under the table. I’m of the opinion that there’s some pretty high level people in England, Scotland, and the U.S. that own a chunk of BP stock.

    The Bank of Scotland got a chunk of change from Goldman Sachs – yes, your TARP money. I’d have to check the timeline…

  42. #42
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:56 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

    Both the President and Vice-President have to qualify, and it is the responsibility of the Congress to ensure they have qualified, and to provide for the case when neither has qualified.

  43. #43
    On July 26th, 2010 at 1:57 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Oops. I posted that comment in the wrong thread (multiple tabs open to different threads). Sorry.

  44. #44
    On July 26th, 2010 at 3:35 pm, txvet2 said:

    I’m of the opinion that there’s some pretty high level people in England, Scotland, and the U.S. that own a chunk of BP stock.

    Whoever got paid off, it won’t do Hayward (BP CEO) any good. He’s been exiled to Siberia.

  45. #45
    On July 26th, 2010 at 4:41 pm, DBNinKY said:

    Also, it shows that the Obama administration lied about being surprised by Megrahi’s release.

    Ssshhhh! Don’t spread word of this just yet – MSNBC still needs time to get its distraction together.

  46. #46
    On July 26th, 2010 at 5:11 pm, GladzKravtz said:

    House of cards?

  47. #47
    On July 26th, 2010 at 5:41 pm, T-Bone said:

    I see a new book coming. Culture of Lies.

  48. #48
    On July 26th, 2010 at 5:50 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    NBC’s Chris Matthews Makes Freudian Slip:
    Will Dems Run Away From “President O’Carter”?

  49. #49
    On July 26th, 2010 at 6:29 pm, jbh45 said:

    Sounds like an opportunity for a seal team to go to libya…..

  50. #50
    On July 26th, 2010 at 7:18 pm, MrOlympia said:

    What post #4 Roland said!

    This POTUS is consumed by hate and is loved and admired by people that think he is just the opposite.

    Whatever strategy he needs to further his Black Liberation Theology/Islam/Marxist/Alinsky ideology is what he will do. Lying, misinformation, and deceiving, are at the top of the list.

  51. #51
    On July 26th, 2010 at 7:22 pm, MrOlympia said:

    #37 thejim………..I AM IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT!

  52. #52
    On July 26th, 2010 at 7:23 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

    Yes. Liars. You’ve been called out.

    Why does anyone believe anything that Obama or his cronies say?

    Including this.

  53. #53
    On July 26th, 2010 at 7:40 pm, AmericaFirst said:

    Barrack Hussein Obama, “Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this Presidency.”

    Michele Bachmann, “If elected to the majority in November 2010, I promise to subpoena and investigate the Obama administration to help him keep his word of transparency. The Democrat Representatives in the House will also have their time of sunshine and cleansing.”

    Sarah Palin, “If elected President in November 2012, I promise to publish every Obama Administration email, letter and deleted computer file to the American public. Also, I will hire 10,000 attorneys to assist in the DOJ prosecution of the 100,000 law breakers all across the former Obama administration.”

    I wish :)

  54. #54
    On July 26th, 2010 at 8:06 pm, graysonret said:

    What did you expect from a rookie in the WH? The man, and his buddies, has no foreign diplomacy experience and has become the laughing-stock of the international community. Obama has no idea what he is doing on the international scene, and, consequently, has repeatedly made a fool out of himself and damaged our foreign policies.

  55. #55
    On July 26th, 2010 at 8:21 pm, bjc said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 8:06 pm, graysonret said:

    *And don’t forget Hillary as SoS; She has been a huge embarrassment, but not unexpected; The administration is crawling with leftists from the sixties such as herself, and it will take some heavy lifting after 2012 to right the ship; So much damage!

  56. #56
    On July 26th, 2010 at 9:28 pm, dan708 said:

    Even if we were to buy the malarkey that al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds, it would bring up the question, “Who was the doctor who thought the Grim Reaper was knocking on al-Megrahi’s prison cell door?”

    A moot point, of course, but I wanted to bring that up.

  57. #57
    On July 26th, 2010 at 9:58 pm, happy2behere said:

    The murderer of my cousin died in prison. This guy kills an entire plane and gets out in 24. Insane.

  58. #58
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:26 pm, Republicanvet said:

    LeBaron’s note was a clear signal to Scotland that the US had lost most of its interest in Megrahi; recall that the US had insisted originally that any parole must include extradition to the US. The Scottish government must have presumed that we would not strenuously object to their release of Megrahi to the Libyans after LeBaron failed to raise that point and demand Megrahi’s extradition.

    So which career employee at State or elsewhere in the administration raised this point, and was shot down by some political hack?

    Either Hillary is looking for votes again or it’s just Urkel continuing his outreach to Muslims.

  59. #59
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:32 pm, Republicanvet said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 10:46 am, nail49 said:

    One
    Big
    Ass
    Mistake
    America

    Not nice to fool with Michelle “O”!!!
    Ragman

    Uh, if that also included Meanchelle, wouldn’t it be:

    One
    Big
    Ass
    and
    Mistake
    America

  60. #60
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:39 pm, Republicanvet said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:21 am, Lindsay said:

    There is a growing need for a new Czar appt: Liar Czar?

    That would be the one moderate in this administration since the rest of the left would be vastly overqualified.

  61. #61
    On July 26th, 2010 at 11:47 pm, Republicanvet said:

    On July 26th, 2010 at 4:41 pm, DBNinKY said:

    Also, it shows that the Obama administration lied about being surprised by Megrahi’s release.

    Ssshhhh! Don’t spread word of this just yet – MSNBC still needs time to get its distraction together.

    They would still likely beat Bob Shieffer. Ya s’pose Doddering Bob even knows what happened over Lockerbie?

  62. #62
    On July 27th, 2010 at 8:37 am, beenthere said:

    If you liked “compassionate conservatism,” you’re going to love “compassionate liberalism.”

    From the beginning, it was clear the Obamistas didn’t care about the Lockerbie bomber. Would Bill Ayers or Jeremiah Wright? Nope, not one bit. After all, the lockerbie bomber wasn’t a right-wing talk show host, the true terrorists in America. So naturally, they would give him a pass.

  63. #63
    On July 27th, 2010 at 9:25 am, zyzzyg said:

    The letter did not give a green light to Megrahi’s parole to Libya.

  64. #64
    On July 27th, 2010 at 11:34 am, Roland said:

    Of course it did, zyzz. You just have problems with reading comprehension.

    Perhaps English is not your first language. Understanding implications can be the most complicated and difficult part of English.

    If releasing Megrahi was going to make the administration angry, if it was actually important to them to keep him locked up, they would have ‘said’ so. They would have been clear.

    This is similar to the ‘error’ made when we failed to be clear with Saddam in 1990 about our interest in Kuwait. We gave him a green light to go for it.

    That was why we were so willing to give Saddam a free Get Out Of Jail card if he would just get out of Kuwait. We knew we had screwed up.

  65. #65
    On July 27th, 2010 at 11:45 am, NJ-Aviator said:

    zyzzyg said:

    The letter did not give a green light to Megrahi’s parole to Libya.

    LOL. Cling to that if you like. But don’t forget Morrissey’s other comment.

    LeBaron’s note was a clear signal to Scotland that the US had lost most of its interest in Megrahi

    You know full well what message this communication from Obama’s administration was intended to send. The best case for Obama was his administration is incompetent, as Morrissey contends. The worst case is that they gave Scotland the wink and nod with regard to that murderers release and then lied about knowing about it.

    In fact…. yeah… they lied about knowing about it in advance. That much is a fact.

  66. #66
    On July 27th, 2010 at 4:38 pm, T-Bone said:

    Why is he not dead? Was it all a lie or are Scottish Doctors really that bad?

    Maybe we should put the Doctor in jail in his place until he does die.

  67. #67
    On July 27th, 2010 at 5:34 pm, Arnold said:

    T-Bone #71:

    Why is he not dead? Was it all a lie or are Scottish Doctors really that bad?

    Welcome to the NHS!

  68. #68
    On July 28th, 2010 at 1:30 pm, huggybear said:

    The full text of the letter was just released. Contrary to this post, the letter did not back “compassionate release.”

    The United States is not prepared to support Megrahi’s release on compassionate release or bail. We understand that Scottish authorities are ensuring that Megrahi receives quality medical treatment, including palliative care, while incarcerated. The United States maintains its view that in light of the scope of Megrahi’s crime, its heinous nature, and its continued and devastating impact on the victims and their families, it would be most appropriate for Megrahi to remain imprisoned for the entirety of his sentence. This was the understanding and expectation at the time arrangements were made for his trial in Scottish Court in the Netherlands, were he or his confederate to be convicted and their appeals upheld.

    Again, while we are not able to endorse the early release of Megrahi under any scenario, we believe that granting compassionate release or bail under the conditions described (i.e. release with a life expectancy or less than three months and with Megrahi remaining in Scotland under supervision) would mitigate a number of the strong concerns that we have expressed with respect to Megrahi’s release.

    Just here to correct the record since I know the people responsible for that sort of thing can’t be bothered. So much for “surprised.”

  69. #69
    On July 28th, 2010 at 1:43 pm, chapoutier said:

    Hah, huggy! Just came on to post the same thing.

    Of course, you are right. There will be no correction from the powers that be, and no one here will come back to this thread. They are too busy chasing the next wild goose.

  70. #70
    On July 28th, 2010 at 1:46 pm, chapoutier said:

    And of course, there are MUCH more important things to update, like whether or not Kerry has paid a boat tax. That deserves at least two posts. This? Meh…not so much.

  71. #71
    On July 28th, 2010 at 7:17 pm, TheOtherSide said:

    I won’t hold my breath waiting for a correction to this story.

    btw It was Bush’s fault.

  72. #72
    On July 29th, 2010 at 12:32 am, RetFireman said:

    Yeah, they can make the argument that Obama is not a Muslim, regardless of how many pieces of evidence demonstrates that, at the very least, he spent the better part of his early and formative years practicing, being raised by and as, and being educated in, Islam, but the sympathies he shows is ALWAYS towards Islam and its practitioners. I refuse to believe that has Bush or any other Republican been in office, this incident would have occurred. The very nature of giving one patootie about whether or not this murderous piece of filth has terminal cancer and thus should be released in unto itself is just offensive and should have been given the official, on the record response of “Tough ****”.

    But no…instead, he was allowed to go free, after blowing up and airliner full of innocent civilians coming home after the Christmas, a Christian holiday, and have the entire Muslim world laugh at us, claim victory, and learn that once again, Americans and non-Muslims in general are easily manipulated and don’t have the stones to take them on in any serious fashion…and that they now have a friend and ally in the White House.

  73. #73
    On July 29th, 2010 at 12:13 pm, TheOtherSide said:

    I refuse to believe that had Bush or any other Republican been in office, this incident would have occurred.

    See my link above #76.

  74. #74
    On February 25th, 2011 at 8:46 pm, huggybear said:

    Take it up w/ Doug, the third ( that Michelle actually wrote, was true )

    If you read the comments following the posts, you will see that some commenters actually did take it up with Doug. But that’s beside the point; her name is on the masthead. She is calling out others for being dishonest even though she allows untruths to stand uncorrected on her own blog even after they have been pointed out to her.

    And by the way, the third one was not true.

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