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United States News Title: Lockerbie victim's brother: Finally, Gadhafi's reckoning As we watch what could well be the fall of one of history's most murderous dictators, Moammar Gadhafi, unfolding, I am overwhelmed by a range of emotions. Like many of us, I feel like a sports fan cheering the rebels to victory. But I also feel a deep, visceral, personal (and morally suspect, I must admit) sense of revenge and schadenfreude. Even before the defected Libyan justice minister, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, told a Swedish newspaper reporter in February that Gadhafi was behind the murder of my brother and 269 other innocents in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, many believed it to be true. The feeling now is bittersweet, but sweet nonetheless. One of my favorite moments came Monday morning, when Gadhafi's "fearless" sons surrendered. They had no problem sending the Libyan people and mercenaries to fight for them, but when rebels started closing in on them, they couldn't wave the white flag fast enough. After savoring that moment, however, I began to reflect on all we can learn from this revolution. First, justice can be done. It may not take the path we expect, and it often takes longer than anyone likes, but the imbalance can be corrected and we can hold people accountable. Justice, however, can also be corrupted. For more than 20 years, the families of the victims of Pan Am 103 have fought against special interests, including foreign and domestic industries, that only wanted Libya's oil. As recently as two years ago, we had the ultimate betrayal when Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence official convicted of the bombing, was released by the Scottish government, after lobbying pressure from BP and others. We said at the time that such a move was not only a betrayal of the Lockerbie victims, but also a betrayal of the Libyan people, as it elevated and legitimized the tyrannical Gadhafi regime. It was a great irony that 18 months later, the UK was sending warships to Tripoli to rescue BP executives when Gadhafi started attacking his own people after the rebellion started. We could have done more and we should have done it sooner. Gadhafi committed the largest terrorist attack on U.S. civilians prior to the September 11 attacks. But there was never the political will to remove him. Therefore, the families used whatever means they had to hold Libya accountable. We found allies, including Sens. Edward Kennedy, Frank Lautenberg, Hillary Clinton, Robert Menendez, Charles Schumer and, most recently, Kirsten Gillibrand. They helped us pass the 1996 Iran-Libya Sanctions Act and other legislation that isolated Libya. This would ultimately lead to the handover of Al-Megrahi and the end of Libya's support of terrorism. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
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