Misguided Compassion

On behalf of all of the American exchange students whose lives were cut short on 21 December 1988, I am compelled to write in outrage about the Scottish authorities decision to release the Libyan terrorist who planted the bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie Scotland killing all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was released from a Scottish prison yesterday on grounds of compassion. His return to Libya after 21 years prompted a  celebratory hero’s welcome and a warm embrace from  the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

All on the grounds of compassion. Mr. al-Megrahi showed no mercy or had any thoughts of pity for his victims when he loaded Pan Am Flight 103 with a bomb. He will get to say goodbye to his family before he dies. The Lockerbie victims never said goodbye to their loved ones. Where lies the sympathy in Mr. al-Megrahi’s actions? He showed no compassion in December 1988. This is not compassionate move on Scotland’s part; it is an outrage! A victory for the terrorist community.

Yes, I realize he is an old dying man and is no longer a threat. I caution you. Look back at the spectacle that took place on the tarmac in Libya yesterday. Therein lies the threat. A seed of dissent planted in a young Libyan mind upon seeing Mr. al-Megrahi’s jubilant return. A hero in the minds of Libyans.

Mr. al-Megrahi is no hero. Neither is Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill who made the decision to free this terrorist. The heros are the parents, husbands, wives, siblings, and friends of those innocent people who perished. They have had to live all these 21 years with a gaping hole in their lives. We must live with the aftermath of the release of Mr. al-Megrahi. I believe this decision will impact all of us. Not now perhaps, but in the future.

Why should I, a suburban Mom living in Minnesota, care so deeply about all of this?
I held a standby ticket on Pan Am Flight 103. 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/20/scotland.lockerbie.bomber/index.html