The al-Megrahi Saga Continues

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive!

That's about the size of the al-Megrahi story.

Briefly put, events can be summarized as follows, with a dash of blogger speculation of course:

...it started with the Brit-American joint venture to shut down Gaddafi's nuclear program a few years after 9/11. Part of that deal was to open Libya to some joint business ventures, and obviously oil is their biggest export. But getting BP access to the oilfields was still not free--it apparently required prisoner swaps to appease the nutball dictator. This eventually led to the highest profile Libyan terrorist of all time being sent back to Tripoli for a hero's welcome, a cream pie crammed in the face of the UK and the USA. Is the west really so desperate?

Reports tonight have finally shown what many figured in 2009: people lied about the health of the terrorist. People were dishonest about what was known of the whole sordid affair. Megrahi did, and still does, have prostate cancer, but he wasn't 'months away from death' as reported first back in 2008 then again repeatedly in 2009. Wiki details say the Brits tried to 'coach' the Libyans on how to get him freed, undoubtedly based on this criteria (from 2008):

Prisoners thought to have less than three months to live in Scotland can apply for early release on compassionate grounds.

That was over two years ago, when it was reported he had weeks to live. Last March we got this. This year the truth came closer. Cameron is still trying to pretend. Meanwhile under the surface BP's deal with Gaddafi was cruising right along without a snag until the Deepwater Horizon bumped it into a holding pattern. At some point the coast will clear, though.

Through it all the Pan Am 103 victims' families--like the Cole bombing families--are left to wonder what happened to justice.

Which is a tough question. As you read this the Libyan nuke program still sits securely in Tennessee. The terrorist will soon be dead and the oil will soon be extracted, perhaps within view of his villa. So maybe that's the answer.