“I am a family man: first and foremost I am a son, husband, father and grandfather.” Thus said Lockerbie bomber Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi in his appeal to the Scottish authorities for compassionate release. And thus Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on Scotland’s decision to comply: “Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion available. Our beliefs dictate that justice be served but mercy be shown.” Would those be Scottish beliefs? British? They sure as hell aren’t the beliefs of the families of al-Megrahi’s American victims, who would show him just the kind of mercy he showed their loved ones.
If only we’d had the balls to warn the Scots there’d be consequences for taking this shameful decision before they took it, like, say, an interruption of our deep and wide economic ties, maybe there’d have been a different outcome. If only our government were willing to do more than “strongly condemn” Scotland’s inexplicable decision–Mr. MacAskill’s mercy notwithstanding–to send this killer home to a hero’s welcome in Libya. And if only we had a president capable of producing more than this puling garbage: “We thought it was a mistake. . . . We’ve also obviously been in contact with the families of the Pan Am victims and indicated to them that we don’t think this was appropriate.”
If only all that stuff, we wouldn’t now be witnessing the rubbing of salt in the wounds of the survivors of the 270 victims of “family man”al-Megrahi.
