Another month gone by and the "terminally ill" Lockerbie Bomber is still not dead. What's going on?

Mass killer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi supposedly dying in a Libyan hospital last August

On December 9, I asked the question here why the infamous Lockerbie Bomber wasn't dead yet. He had been released in August by Scottish authorities ostensibly on "compassionate grounds" after serving only 8 1/2 years of his life sentence for killing 270 people, mostly Americans, on Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Al-Megrahi was said to be afflicted with "terminal prostate cancer" and given only three months to live. He received a hero's welcome on his return to Libya. Soon after, the above photo of him in the hospital was released. Then, he dropped from sight, and by all accounts is still very much alive.

That was four months and 19 days ago. So what's going on?

Daily Beast editor Lloyd Grove tried to find out and got a run-around from British and Scottish officials. Grove was able to establish that, unbelievably, the British-Scottish responsibility for monitoring Megrahi's release is in the hands of the Community Health and Care Partnership of the East Renfrewshire Council -- sort of like your local town health department. Ah, but the Council guy told Grove that he couldn't comment on Megrahi's health since "the privacy of the client's medical details must be respected." Megrahi is a "client," no less, not even a parolee. much less a convicted terrorist!

This whole thing stinks to high heaven. From the outset in August, it was clear that the British government had sold out the Lockerbie victims to smooth the way for a huge BP oil deal with Libya and had persuaded the Scots to release him “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom."

Megrahi's three months are up long ago, and he's still not dead. The families of his victims deserve at least an explanation, but no one is talking. President Obama must demand an accounting from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. And the British press and people would be doing everyone a favor if they raised hell themselves.

What do you think? Post a comment.

Is Lockerbie Bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi dead yet? If not, why not?

al-Megrahi (left) gets hero's welcome on return to Libya with dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif

On August 20, 2009, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, better known as the Lockerbie Bomber was freed by Scottish authorities on "compassionate grounds" after serving only 8 1/2 years of his life sentence for the terrorist murders of 270 people on Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Supposedly, al-Megrahi had "terminal prostate cancer" and had less than three months to live.

That was three months and 20 days ago, so the question should be asked, is he dead yet? And if not, why not?

On November 19, when al-Megrahi's three months were up, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisting understandably that the convicted terrorist be sent back to prison in Scotland if still alive. “The bottom line is Megrahi should have never been released in the first place, but it would be even more outrageous if he were to be able to live a long and free life after his release," Schumer said. At that time, it was reported that while al-Megrahi had checked into a local hospital in Tripoli initially on his return to Libya, he had been released and was living at his family’s villa.

On October 21, hopes for al-Megrahi's quick demise were raised briefly when Sky News reported that he had died, but his lawyer promptly denied it:

It's absolutely untrue," said al-Megrahi's lawyer Tony Kelly, according to Reuters. "He's definitely not dead."

Kelly would not comment further on his client's health, other than to say: "He is alive and breathing," Reuters reported.

Lest there be any doubt about the mass murderer's still breathing air, a Libyan official told Reuters, "Megrahi's condition is stable. He's alive."

That's the last reasonably authoritative reference to al-Megrahi's health that this blogger can find anywhere. If the bomber is alive today, he's well past his promised expiration date and the Obama Administration should renew Senator Schumer's demand to send him back to prison.

The business about "compassionate grounds" had a stink about it from the start. Needless to say, the relatives of al-Megrahi's victims saw little reason to waste compassion someone who had served a measly eight years for killing 270 people. And the British press soon found out that a huge BP oil deal with Libya played at least a significant role in the decision by the U.K. and Scottish governments to release him “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom."

Indeed, it would seem that the question must be raised and answered, does al-Megrahi have "terminal cancer" at all or was the whole thing a sham?

What do you think? Post a comment.

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