Leaked Memos: Lockerbie Bomber Was Traded for BP Drilling Rights
By Susie Madrak Monday Aug 31, 2009 5:00amSo apparently punishing terrorists (assuming we had the right people in the first place) isn't quite as important as U.S. and British officials make it seem. It's all about the oil, baby!
The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.
Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.
The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.
The correspondence makes it plain that the key decision to include Megrahi in a deal with Libya to allow prisoners to return home was, in fact, taken in London for British national interests.
Edward Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: “This is the strongest evidence yet that the British government has been involved for a long time in talks over al-Megrahi in which commercial considerations have been central to their thinking.”
Two letters dated five months apart show that Straw initially intended to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, under which British and Libyan prisoners could serve out their sentences in their home country.
Downing Street had also said Megrahi would not be included under the agreement.
Straw then switched his position as Libya used its deal with BP as a bargaining chip to insist the Lockerbie bomber was included.
The exploration deal for oil and gas, potentially worth up to £15 billion, was announced in May 2007. Six months later the agreement was still waiting to be ratified.
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and besides, we need the oil now...
*snark/off*
Oil causes so much bullshit...the sooner we get away from it, the better off the entire planet will be.
BP let the terrirst loose! Better teabag em!!
Wonder if all those tough talking "keeping America and the world safe" conservatives will go "town hall" the oil companies over this? Nah, they have the freedumb to fill up their 14 mpg SUV, even if he kills again, is OK.
Are foreign countries given the license to our oil... If oil is so d... important and we are running out,, why is it given to foreign countres the same as our manufacturing plants , jobs and our national resources.. Just what are the objectives of the elected officials in ?our? country...And what country are they really concern for..
We are renters in our OWN COUNTRIES..
With the aid of Palin oil rights in Alaska..
The US government has licensed off nearly 3m acres near the coast of Alaska to exploration companies, drawing the ire of environmental activists.
Last year two former Alaskan lawmakers were convicted of accepting bribes from executives working for Veco, an oilfields servicing company.
I'm certainly gladly that the U.S. is above such unspeakable deals.
jeebus!
This is from the Bush playbook; oil is more important than human lives, except your own.
When govt talks about "justice".
for past acts of our government, what is the rationale for mentioning the US in connection with this case?
..in Scotland!
produced the trumped up evidence that al-Megrahi was the bomber.
This is something that is in serious dispute.
I would bet the UK used al-Megrahi for the trade knowing they'd have to release him as innocent anyway if his appeal went through.
Only 'out of the loop' gov officials died that day.
important to punish terrorists, I am not sure what connecting the US into this decision to pardon al-Meghari is about. There is not one in the post.
This morning on Morning Joe, both Joe and Mika said our government had to have been advised by Endland of what they planned to do. A reporter on their show said that we cannot make that leap with only the information we have now.
Since it thundered here all night last night and no one could sleep, I'm too foggy headed this morning to make out the details of this story with any accuracy.
of the post highlighted as "right people." It goes to an article which highlights a number of different theories of why the plane was bombed, none any more or less convincing than the case against Libyans. Its author is descibed thusly:
"Lisa Pease is a historian and writer who specializes in the mysteries of the John F. Kennedy era."
We will rue the day these (snake) oil salesman convinced us to fuel our FUV's and heat the absurd Mc Mansions with oil. After we drain the last drop of Mother Earths blood,we may discover that oil served to the basic functioning of the physical planet, our liquid gyroscope that kept us in the proper orbit.
By then the snakeoil salesman will be long gone.
I hear all these 'pundits' screaming about...'what did Obama know and when did he know it'...um...
didn't someone just mention that deal started rolling two years ago?????
Iran-Contra redux, indeed!
..that can't be broken just because it involves OIL! This is just disgusting that some object (OIL) has more worth than a single human life and I'm not talking about the al-mehgrahi's. I'm talking about the lives taken in the skies over Lockerbie of course.
Where is the justice for the victims here?
We should crank up the BOYCOTT machine and let BP know, we don't want their stinkin' oil but too many people out there could care one whit about things like justice; that's readily evident from everything else that's goin' on in the world (w tortures and gets away with it). Those people are probably sighing a cry of relief that the USA isn't the World's Police Force ready to punish the terrorists who keep taking shots at us. We might have damaged Libya's ability to produce oil and then where would they be?
if you want justice for the Lockerbie deaths then go after the CIA and find out why they provided trumped up evidence and framed al-Megrahi.
Locking up someone who has more than a reasonable doubt about being innocent based on the word of a US "Intelligence" services unsubstantiated charges is not justice.
And while you are at it go read up on what that whole episode was about, you are seriously uninformed about it.
After all, it was on behalf of B.P.'s oil monopoly in Iran that the C.I.A. overthrew Mohammad Mossadegh's democratic government in 1953. That set off reactions in the world of Islam toward the Western powers which we may never see the end of.
B.P. may turn out to be the primary antagonist of the most extensive world conflict history has ever seen. A boycott is far too gentle an action to wish upon them.
and the silencing of a DEA investigation team.
..there isn't anything that compelling for me. Many have been proffered; many have been rebuked. al-megrahi may have had an appeal in place but he was the one in jail for the crime and that's good enough for me for now. I'd bet gadaffi was complicit and that there are some things unknown but for justice's sake, al-megrahi should've stayed in jail. He was the one who was convicted and should've been the one to remain in jail until further adjudication either kept him in jail or let him go. It is a rule of law thing. And again, to me, the evidence of a cover-up and/or conspiracy is thin or coincidental.
Sorry fellas, but I don't believe w took down the WTC either!
That's damn sad.
I suppose you feel the same about the hundreds of innocents held in US black sites as well, after all they are there so they must be guilty right?
..but which conspiracy theory do you want me to buy into? They can't all be "right" so which one do you subscribe to? Which one of all that have been debunked do you want me to believe in? Why would I believe in something that isn't or may not be true or can't be proven?
People are saying many things and there are probably alot of things being held from us but if there are Americans who believe the President is a Muslim, then there are probably theories about what happened in Scotland and the aftermath that are believed by some. So which one do I believe? Do you have irrefutable proof for yours? Let's have it then! You said, "if you want justice for the Lockerbie deaths then go after the CIA and find out why they provided trumped up evidence and framed al-Megrahi." Why should I do this? Have you done any research? OK, let's see what you have as proof that the CIA trumped up evidence!
"Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces." and "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!"
Your words bubba, the internet remembers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/apr/07/lock...
Let me know which one of these you subscribe to! Then offer proof.
That article is 10 years old and out of date.
Try this one: http://www.ericmargolis.com/political_comment...
Sooo, you think EVERYONE who is incarcerated is guilty right? You just said so a couple of posts back. Given that I don't think I'll be trusting any analysis that you might try to provide.
There was no announcement.
Nation-states such as the UK and USA control very little.
The transnational Corporations have superceded nation-states as the powers in the world.
They are accountable to nobody.
While we bark up the wrong tree and rage at our "governments" the corporations consolidate their power and return the world to feudalism.
You cannot vote a corporation out of office.
Be afraid.
The Corpora-Fascists (as I like to refer to them) and the Banksters are the ones who control the wealth and power in this world. Anyone who thinks that we have a functioning 'democracy' hasn't been paying attention.
Corporatism is such a primary component of fascism, even Mussolini, the ultimate fascist, preferred to simply be called a "corporatist".
All I remember about Libya is after the US invaded Iraq, they turned over all their "weapons" to the US. Bush seemed to think they did it to keep the US from invading them next. I wonder if all this started back then. Like I said up thread, I am too foggy headed this morning to work out any connection. It's just a thought.
It showed that the West was quite happy to go rolling into Arab countries, or do the 'no fly zone' thing and bomb them at will.
Bush seized on a trend of Libya to open up to relations with the West that went back years prior to the Iraq invasion, starting when Qaddafi surrendered the Lockerbie suspects in April 1999.
In the November 2000 issue of National Geographic magazine, there is an article titled, "Libya, an end to Isolation", which describes the trend for which Bush later sough credit.
If Bush hadn't made terrorism into a meme . . .
...........trumps ALL!
has now become the a government-corporate negotiation tool to raise profits for all. All CEOs that is.
It's about the world banks making the individuals and countries slaves to debt. If conflict through military uprisings, coups, or terrorism drives up a country's debt... it makes it easier for the banks to control them.
Geez. I watch one movie ("The International") and immediately my conspiracy theory hat comes back on my head. It's going to take at least a day and maybe some porn to get rid of that line of thinking.
And 9/11 was was the 'bestest' tool ever to bring Americans to their knees and allow...enable the corpora-fascists to continue their rape of the world. Be very afraid....
...........because BLOODYISRAEL has annexed the world's most egregious, Corportist country, the USofBLOODYISRAEL. They play tandum matches at 'Banana Republican' any poorer country with resources. FASCISM IS ON THE LOOSE AGAIN THANKS TO THE BUSHCRIMEFAMILY.
14 Billion dollars for a dying person?
Done! Sold to the wierdo in the keffiyeh!
Considering that this is the same British government that was all too happy to join in Dubya's gang rape of Iraq for the sake of oil (killing over a million Iraqis), this deal is actually a step up.
..and displaced millions just to get the record straight. Not that there's anything better about which power of ten we're talking about but..http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
we were just along for the kicks.
Lancet has the accurate figures: over one million dead Iraqis and climbing.
..one I'm reading 655,000 by the Lancet in 2006
and that the methodology used by the Lancet was flawed.
Just sayin' and not "just sayin'" because I approve of any of the deaths in Iraq but just sayin'.
It's not 06, and there's nothing wrong with the methodology used by Lancet, other than the fact that it yielded results the war whores found embarrassing.
If anything, The Lancet was being conservative in its estimates.
And who did most of the killing?
I see you don't want to remember Fallujah, who would?
Don't go blaming the UK for what the US did.
In a bad war the UK comes out smelling like a rose compared to the US on all accounts.
The only way we'd have come out smelling better is if Blair had taken his cues from France and told Bush to take a flying fuck.
Wasn't the reconcilliation with Libya supposed to be one of the small bright spots of the Bush administration?
There's another shelf in the lieberry we won't be needing.
According to the bush administration, at the time, Libya was wetting itself like a frightened puppy in fear they would be invaded by the US next so they turned over their wmd or whatever they had to the US. It was supposed to be contagious and other countries would supposedly follow suit. I don't recall that any others did.
As I posted previously, Bush seized on a thaw in relations that went back years prior to the Iraq invasion, starting when Qaddafi surrendered the Lockerbie suspects in April 1999.
An article in the November 2000 issue of National Geographic magazine titled, "Libya, an end to Isolation" describes the trend for which Bush later sough credit.
There may have been further movement after our invasion of Iraq, but Bush would have us believe that he should be credited with the entire thaw in relations with Libya. That's Bushit!
~ Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough. ~
Janwillem van de Wetering
I remember some memos that leaked out of Downing Street. I wish they had gotten this much international attention. I wish they had been acknowledged the way this situation is now.
from the Mickey Mouse pundit panel yesterday, it is not immoral unless it is not effective. The earlier leaks only proved how effective the US and UK were in lying us into a war.
That is one hell of a bizarre statement by george. I would like to hear him elaborate on that.
in the post which featured it. I replayed it over and over to make sure I heard him right. It proves not only want an emptyheaded hypocrite Will is, but that the other members of the This Week with Mickey Mouse panel would better serve their country by spending Sunday morning in church.
They were effective at lying because they have nothing else.
yup....don't recall hearing much (if anything) about THOSE on Morning Joe................
come to think of it, I haven't heard ANYONE (outside of KO ..has RM???) mention those Downing Street Memos.
No one
went over it quite a bit and even had guests on his radio show that were directly linked to the memos.
But yeah, the Downing Street Memos has been deregulated by the corporate media as a myth, much like the mythological "welfare queen."
The only reason that Libya handed over this guy was because of econmic pressure put on Libya. So now Libya has got him freed using the same means. Actually it's rather fitting.
for Libya.
Well... surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise.
is that yo fingah Gomah?
This morning on Morning Joe, Joe "i was in congress in the 90's" Scarborough was looking to pin some of the blame on the Obama administration. In LESS than 5 minutes from the start of the show he made the statement...since over 100 american students were killed in this attack, there is no way the British government would have made this deal without the advance knowledge of the Obama administration, it will be interesting to see who in the administration new and when they knew it...
i have to ask why this would be an issue for the Obama administration since the British Governemnet made the decision. what could our government do, say no a pitch a hissy fit. oh wait, we did those things when Bush Co. ruled.
Lt. William Calley, who carried out My Lai, and had his sentence commuted from life to 3 1/2 years HOUSE ARREST by the US Government. Lesson, what other nations do and why they do it is just tough sh!t.
That is absolutely fucking disgusting.
Their government is damned near as bad as ours.
wants to be just like yours and they are working hard at the ideal.
Pathetic really, we aren't anything like you in most things so this drive to become like you in the face of how much of a failure your culture is really is a case of us shooting ourselves in the foot.
Better if we looked eastward for examples and ideas, the US culture is a dead one.
For years I happily traded with the company known as "Beyond Petroleum." Now I find out it stands for British Petroleum!
And they are still drilling for oil! I feel ashamed. I need some
organic nutrients from Whole Foods to get my aura back in balance.
The "Beyond Petroleum" public relations campaign is a whitewash for the company that has brought us such wonderful products as a C.I.A. overthrow of a democratically elected government of an Islamic country in 1953(for it's oil, of course), leading to the contentious relationship between Islam and the West that we deal with to this day.
And G.E. claims to "bring good things to life"?
And don't do any business with a company called Xe, either. You'll never guess who they used to be!
I think you can date the beginning of the contentious relationship between Islam and the West back to about 634 AD.
so what? just another example of how corporations run the world with the acquiesence of sheeple.
you people on the left don't really care as long you get yours.
japan has just went left after 54 years. germany is turning left.
southamerica turned left some time ago. when are you political tourists learn that going hard to the left is the only way to get rid of your corporate masters.
start a initiative for publicly funded elections.NOW
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5267...
of course PanAm was just looking to quickly fill seats from the sudden cancellations... err... weren't they found guilty of not using acquired knowledge to strengthen security? Glad I stayed in London that Christmas. Whoever the bombers and conspirators are, they are damned and/or brain damaged, as they are either forever feeling guilty with remorse or have no feelings because of mental illness. We will never know who the bombers were, just the victims in a war generations long. The money players will always play their games, either the oil men or the victims families in Tripoli, US or Iran.
W pardoned the sponser of the Lockerbie bombing - Khaddafi, in an effort to open up Libya to western oil profiteers. It had nothing to do with Libya thinking they might be next for regime change, or Khaddafi fearing Bush. It was always about the money. Greed trumps all. No surprise there.
When the oil begins to flow, the new media (lapdogs) will gleefully pull all mention of this new article down.
The Oil industry is ruler of earth.
including thom hartman, who said that its a good thing to release someone like this for compassionate reasons
it was always about the oil
sick
Britain has gone through as many paths as possible to perfecting the iron curtain the winnie described as the great evil. They have as many security cameras as they have intersections. They have a government described as "labour" when they marched lock step with the closest thing in the free world to fascism since Benito and Adolf figured out how to buy their way to power.
Alas. They have become all the things that Orwell predicted. But they make better films than we do now. They always made a percentage of the great ones, every year since day one. But now they make better ones than we do. They are outdoing us on fantasy. No one could have thought this possible.
Our nation is the least learned, easiest to fool in the modern world. This fantasy became a part of the real world. People believe things that are known to be false, known to mock science, known to be the creation of an individual to use on another person.
We don't even have a BBC, never thought it was a good idea to inform the people. The brit's various governments figured it out. Just like the CCCP and Pravda. Just like the NYT and the WaPo. There is no need to tell anyone the whole truth any more. It would just confuse the little dears. You can see how fucked up they are as they try to deny they released the bomber for oil rights. Can't wait until a Tory government comes back to power. I wonder what excuse they will use for martial law?
And you really believe all the bull shit?
Amazing!
[EDIT] Or perhaps not as you directly quote James Murdoch's (Ruperts son) words from the MacTaggart Lecture on Friday about the BBC.
I wouldn't give it much credit.
They also did the Hitler Diaries.
This is just laissez faire capitalism at its finest. A simple deal to make money.
Anyone who disagrees with this is a no good, worthless, liberal, commie, socialist, gay marriage loving, atheist, anti-family homo.
Enough said, nothing more to see or hear.
I just read Murdochs little article (he owns the London Times you know) as well as another 8 sources on this story.
Funny how they ALL use the Times story word for word.
Kind of like an echo machine.
Well, the Times has lied before to score political points for the Tories and time will tell if this is a load of crap as well.
It will all come out in the wash in the end, but for now the government is claiming the story is a load of bollucks.
Who to trust, the government or Murdoch...
I'll take my chances with the Ministers thank you very much.
"We do not negotiate with terrorists"
...unless the price is right.
If true, this is sad, sad indeed. I should think it would cause a rift in Brit-American relations. I would think Hillary would want to look into this. Just one more bullet for the conservatives' rifle.
We are becoming far too much like our "cousins" in the States as is, a little distance would be a welcome relief.
Susie did not blame the US for releasing al-Megrahi. Nor did she claim that the US took part at all in the negotiations that led to his release.
She said that corporate interests trumped US and UK concerns over releasing al-Megrahi. And yes, the US was very vocal about how they did not think al-Megrahi should be released. See here, here and here.
Read the sentence again:
The Scottish government decided NOT to heed UK and US complaints and requests to keep al-Megrahi in prison.
Please be careful to not let your own personal biases color your ability to read posts.
I like Susie Madrak quite a lot and think she is spot on for the most part.
This must make the American Traitor cheney so happy to see his policy of blood for oil used for the profits of his friends.
lets see Lie about the release, oh don't forget its classified to protect the OIL COMPANIES, then we make those who oppose it Terrorist, have the IDIOTS figured how to PHOTO OP it to 9-11, and the American Soldier.
Interesting trade deal. Just imagine if it had been done up front.
"For this oil deal, we offer you one commercial airplane filled with human beings. Do with them what you wish, just as long as we get our oil."
DISGUSTING.
What took place on Joe and Mika this morning was an unconscionable misuse of their positions as broadcast "journalists." With absolutely no evidence, leaks, or even rumors (other than the one Joe made up on the spot), they spent several moments deciding that Obama must have been a party to the BP deal because he did not speak up enough against freeing Megrahi. The discussion, with Mike Barnicle and Harold Ford, Jr. around the table (and Buchanan on feed), not only laid the blame for this at the feet of Obama, it also said he had been "counting on a quiet Libyan homecoming for Megrahi" so that the Obama administration's part in this would not be discovered. But, here's the best part 'cause it gave them all an out if their despicable accusations were later proven by real journalists to be wrong: If Obama did not know about the BP deal, then he is a bad President because some unnamed lower level operative somewhere in the administration would have known the deal was happening and the lines of communication to the NSC and the oval office are not as open as they should be!!! They all actually agreed that this looks bad for Obama either way!!! This is the most vile filth Scarborough has spewed in a long time and I didn't hear anyone in the discussion trying to stop it!!!
al Megrahi was released on condition he drop his appeal. That appeal would most likely have succeeded to the great embarrassment of the U.S. and Britain. The ever-reliable Gwynne Dyer told the story:
"The Maltese shopkeeper who had identified al-Megrahi, Tony Gauci, turned out to be living in Australia, supported by several million dollars the Americans had paid him for his evidence.
The allegation the timer for the bomb had been supplied to Libya by the Swiss manufacturer Mebo turned out to be false. The owner of Mebo, Edwin Bollier, revealed that he had turned down an offer of $4 million from the FBI in 1991 to testify that he had sold his MST-13 timers to Libya.
One of Bollier's former employees, Ulrich Lumpert, did testify at al-Megrahi's trial that MST-13 timers had been supplied to Libya - but in 2007 he admitted he had lied at the trial."
GWYNNE DYER has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years, but he was originally trained as an historian. Born in Newfoundland, he received degrees from Canadian, American and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published by over 175 papers in some 45 countries.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article....
See also what the U.N. observer at the trial has to say:
http://i-p-o.org/lockerbie_observer_mission.htm
The frothing and repeating of misinformation even here will not cease with the addition of information that contradicts the tales the people have come to accept as truth.
You post is excellent, thank you for the additional info on the witnesses. But even here it will be ignored while the lies get repeated until all dissent is drown beneath a torrent of their stinking shite.
That a Murdoch produced conspiracy theory has gained this much traction on the left is disturbing to say the least.
This is highly credible information. Gwynne Dyer is an honourable man and he can be trusted to tell the truth.
Plus, his leather jacket is legendary ;)
... that we and the British went from negotiating with terrorists -- be they star, crescent, cross, oil barrel, or dollar sign -- but we've graduated to using the low class great unwashed terrorists as leverage to bargain and barter with the high class corporate and monied elite terrorists. Fine way to embrace our inner Vic Mackey, Shane Vandrell, and Jack Bauer as golden policy -- foreign or domestic -- although I'm curious as to how President Aceveda is going to silence and misdirect the Wymms and Wagenbachs of the onion-peeling-and-blogging-about-it left.
Sic Rahm Emmanuel on us?!?
*Knock-Knock!*
Hello, AIPAC*cough*AVON calling!
For once, I'd like to see a third world leader tell the international press that they won't be buying anymore American monopoly money until President Aceveda buys Cheney, Bush, Yoo, Addington, etc. a one-way plane ticket to the dock of The Hague in Euros, preferably from Spain or Scotland Yard ...
Sibel Edmonds interviews Jospeh Trento. Did you know the Lockerbie bombing was retaliation for blowing up a Iranian passenger jumbo jet or that Libya was made out to be a scapegoat to coverup US's involvement with Iran and the Middle East? There's a lot of stuff that I didn't know that's covered in this interview.
http://www.askbutwhy.com/2009/08/sibel-edmonds-interview-with-joe-trento.html
Wrong placement of comment.
Gwynne Dyer is that rare form of journalist who only publishes when he is certain of his facts.
I think Gareth Porter also has potential. Check him out on the AMIA bombing:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080204/porter
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/23436
How I wish there were more like them.
I haven't heard Gwynne Dyer's name in years. I did some checking, and discovered that years ago he was banished from canuck print/airwaves by Conrad Black and Izzy Asper, who objected to his comments regarding Israel.
It's good to hear that Dyer is still at the top of his game. I wonder if Conrad Black, now in his prison cell, is thinking about him.
Thanks for the links, brewerstroupe!
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