The murky twists and turns of the infamous Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 victims continues . A former CIA officer involved in the inquiry , Robert Baer, with his book The Devil We Know , has revived the issue , coming as it does with the outcry caused by the return by Scotland to Libya of Abdel Baset al Megrahi on compassionate grounds because he is dying from prostate cancer. One of Little Darwin’s many contacts spent time in Libya as a guest of Colonel Gaddafi in the l980s . How come ? There was a time when Colonel Gaddafi was regarded as a pariah and the Americans failed in an attempt to remove him in a bombing raid , killing a member of his extended family. The campaign against him even included a claim that he had become “queer” and was into cross dressing . A photograph run in Australian newspapers showed what Gaddafi would look like in drag -in a black frock , with painted red lips, high heels and a handbag.
Our contact, in Canberra at the time, met several Libyan diplomats who complained about the poor press Libya received in the West. One thing led to another, and he found himself invited to Libya on two occasions. One visit in l983 took place when Libya was involved in a war with its neighbour, Chad. Travelling to the warfront , he witnessed some horrific scenes. The Libyans , Sunnis, hacked off the heads of their enemies while the Chadians ,Shiites , staked out prisoners with their eyelids cut away so that falcons could feast on their eyeballs
Interviewed by Fran Kelly on the ABC Breakfast Show, CIA author Robert Baer , said that while it would never be known if Megrahi had been involved in the bombing of the Panam jet in l988 he had not received a fair trial, key witnesses having been paid money to commit perjury. The trial had a narrow focus based on the bomb timer said to link it to Libya .There was a stronger case for Iranian involvement , a key Iranian person having been in and out of Tripoli . Iranians had discussed with Pakistanis six months before the Lockerbie bombing the need to bring down an American plane as retribution for the USS Vincenz shooting down an Iranian civil airliner. If there had been an appeal and Iran was indicted and the present defence minister was probably involved it would put the US Administration in a corner , as it was dealing with the Iran of today not that of 20 years ago. Baer said there had been a secret war between Iran and the US since l979 from the time of the US hostages . No administration thought it could go to war because Iran was such an important country , so big and so volatile .
Libya came in from the cold in 2003 when it renounced nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. It also paid 1.7 billion pound compensation for the Lockerbie bombing. Now Colonel Gaddafi , more often than not , receives a full state reception when he travels to the West. Recently he attended the G8 meeting in Italy and received a hug or two from amorous Silvio Berlusconi . Soon Colonel Gaddafi will address the UN in New York. Cynics claim the changed attitude is due to Libya’s vast oil reserves.
Our contact, in Canberra at the time, met several Libyan diplomats who complained about the poor press Libya received in the West. One thing led to another, and he found himself invited to Libya on two occasions. One visit in l983 took place when Libya was involved in a war with its neighbour, Chad. Travelling to the warfront , he witnessed some horrific scenes. The Libyans , Sunnis, hacked off the heads of their enemies while the Chadians ,Shiites , staked out prisoners with their eyelids cut away so that falcons could feast on their eyeballs
Interviewed by Fran Kelly on the ABC Breakfast Show, CIA author Robert Baer , said that while it would never be known if Megrahi had been involved in the bombing of the Panam jet in l988 he had not received a fair trial, key witnesses having been paid money to commit perjury. The trial had a narrow focus based on the bomb timer said to link it to Libya .There was a stronger case for Iranian involvement , a key Iranian person having been in and out of Tripoli . Iranians had discussed with Pakistanis six months before the Lockerbie bombing the need to bring down an American plane as retribution for the USS Vincenz shooting down an Iranian civil airliner. If there had been an appeal and Iran was indicted and the present defence minister was probably involved it would put the US Administration in a corner , as it was dealing with the Iran of today not that of 20 years ago. Baer said there had been a secret war between Iran and the US since l979 from the time of the US hostages . No administration thought it could go to war because Iran was such an important country , so big and so volatile .
Libya came in from the cold in 2003 when it renounced nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. It also paid 1.7 billion pound compensation for the Lockerbie bombing. Now Colonel Gaddafi , more often than not , receives a full state reception when he travels to the West. Recently he attended the G8 meeting in Italy and received a hug or two from amorous Silvio Berlusconi . Soon Colonel Gaddafi will address the UN in New York. Cynics claim the changed attitude is due to Libya’s vast oil reserves.
