Wednesday, 22 April 2015

The US Hand in Libya's Tragedy and Innocence of Al-Megrahi

As thousands of refugees daily try to escape the chaos of Libya, Iraq and Syria by sailing to European shores, a powerful article by Robert Parry in Consortium News analyses America's role in the destruction of Libya, and casts serious doubt on the guilt of Baset A-Megrahi.
Libyan migrants


Parry also describes in expert detail how influential voices in American politics and media have come to understand the fragile nature of the evidence put forward in the Lockerbie trial leading to a probable miscarriage of justice. 

Parry focuses largely on America's contribution to the brutal destruction of the Libyan state, but it was a Labour government led by Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown which fed the NATO "missions" to progressively destroy Libya.

These included bombings of bridges, storage warehouses, government buildings, and several attempts to kill Gaddafi in what were euphemistically described as "command and control" centres - i.e. Gaddafi's homes and palaces. 

 
Brutal murder of Gaddafi.

Parry also mentions the killing of Gaddafi by sodomising him with a large knife. 
 

Here is a short extract. The full article is here.

"At the time, there were a few of us who raised red flags about the Libyan war “group think.” Though no one felt much sympathy for Gaddafi, he wasn’t wrong when he warned that Islamic terrorists were transforming the Benghazi region into a stronghold. Yes, his rhetoric about exterminating rats was over the top, but there was a real danger from these extremists.

And, the Pan Am 103 case, which was repeatedly cited as the indisputable proof of Gaddafi’s depravity, likely was falsely pinned on Libya. Anyone who dispassionately examined the 2001 conviction of Libyan agent Ali al-Megrahi by a special Scottish court would realize that the case was based on highly dubious evidence and bought-and-paid-for testimony.
Baset Al-Megrahi


Megrahi was put away more as a political compromise (with a Libyan co-defendant acquitted) than because his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Indeed, by 2009, the conviction was falling apart. Even a Scottish appeals court expressed concern about a grave miscarriage of justice. But Megrahi’s appeal was short-circuited by his release to Libya on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer.

Yet the U.S. mainstream media routinely called him “the Lockerbie bomber” and noted that the Libyan government had taken “responsibility” for the bombing, which was true but only because it was the only way to get punitive sanctions lifted. The government, like Megrahi, continued to proclaim innocence."

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