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The Man Who Freed the Bomber
Kieran Doherty / Reuters
How Saif Gaddafi, Muammar's playboy son who facilitated the release of the Lockerbie bomber, is giving Libya a bad name.
Saif al Islam al Gaddafi, son and heir apparent to Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi, is the wealthy bachelor at the center of the Lockerbie uproar. His successful effort to gain an early release for a convicted mass murderer, a Libyan intelligence officer sentenced to life in prison, has scandalized U.S. officialdom, threatens to topple the Scottish government, and has already damaged embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The 37-year-old Gaddafi helped facilitate the freedom of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, who placed an explosive device aboard Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988. Gaddafi accompanied the bomber, who is said to be dying of prostate cancer, from Scotland to Libya on his father’s private jet, and presided over a hero’s welcome that outraged the West. It was a PR setback for a once-rogue nation that only recently has won acceptance in the international community by giving up weapons of mass destruction, renouncing terrorism, and vowing to fight al Qaeda.
“He was clearly very comfortable with investment bankers and private-equity types,” said someone who had breakfast with Gaddafi last year, “and he changed a lot of the conventional wisdom—it wasn’t your standard take on the Arab world.”
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Yet Saif has long been a popular figure in London society—a babe-magnet and culture vulture who boasts advanced degrees from the London School of Economics, has a serious knowledge of art, heads up a charitable foundation, and is an architect by training. Last November, he even made a splash in Manhattan during a trade-promoting trip to the United States as an informal representative of the Libyan regime. Young Gaddafi impressed the New Yorkers he met at Council on Foreign Relations breakfast as thoughtful, soft-spoken, and witty.
“He was clearly very comfortable with investment bankers and private-equity types in the meeting, and he changed a lot of the conventional wisdom—it wasn’t your standard take on the Arab world,” says a participant at the breakfast. “It was a different point of view from the Arab nationalism and Third World politics of his father’s generation of leaders. He represented a real change.” Although Saif is widely considered the most presentable Gaddafi to potentially succeed his father, who is only 67 and apparently robust, “he explicitly ruled that out,” says the breakfast attendee—though it wasn’t clear if Saif’s disclaimer was just for appearances. “This latest situation does represent a step backward for Libya and for Saif,” says the breakfast participant, noting that the flap will have a negative impact on Col. Gaddafi’s visit to the United Nations scheduled for next month.
During Saif’s recent New York visit, his friend Nat Rothschild, hedge-funder and scion of the British banking family, opened his fabulous Greenwich Village townhouse to the likes of Eva Mendes, Taki Theodoracopulos, and Ivanka Trump for a party in the Libyan’s honor.
• Lloyd Grove: NJ Congressman Tells Gaddafi to Keep Out
• The Daily Beast's Andrew Neil: Why the Lockerbie Bomber Was FreedSo who is Saif Gaddafi? Years ago, he offered some clues in a statement submitted to the British high court as part of a successful libel suit against The Telegraph (which had accused him of money-laundering among other sins).
“In terms of spare time, my interests include my pet tigers,” he recounted. “I have had them since they were tiny cubs. I love playing with my tigers, although they can sometimes be a little rough! ... I also enjoy falconry, and have some falcons of my own. … I also like reading. I read widely but concentrate mainly on books about history, politics, economics, and religion. … I also enjoy painting when I can find time, and have been having painting lessons for a long time, since school. I paint mainly with oils, and paint in a particular style which combines realism, surrealism, impressionism, and collage in each work. … Although I am a strong believer in the teachings of Islam, and hope that I am a good Muslim, I think that I have quite modern views on things such as the role of women in our society. I strongly believe that women should be treated as equals of men, and think that it is essential that my country recognizes this if it is to do well in the future.”
Saif hobnobs with English toffs, dates models and actresses—as of last year, his girlfriend was an Israeli soap star—and boasts connections high up in the U.K. government, just as he does in regimes throughout the Arab world. He seems especially chummy with Peter Mandelson, aka Lord Mandelson, the powerful business secretary and president of the Board of Trade. Gaddafi’s repeated lobbying of Mandelson for the bomber’s early release from a Scottish prison—while both were guests earlier this month at the Rothschild estate in Corfu—has been Topic A on Fleet Street.
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I'll be a minority of one and say, I support the Scottish minister. The man has a few months to live. Let him go and meet the big suicide bomber in the sky. Would justice be served by having him die in prison? Would Cheney get to watch?
You're right. You are in the minority. He should have stayed in prison and died there as an example of what happens when you kill 259 people in one horrific act. Instead he gets to become a hero to his country.
And what is this crap about Cheney? A 37 year-old kid (Gaddafi Jr.) brokered a deal that the White House did nothing about other than make a phone call (not much good that did either)
How come we didn't end this before it started? Because our Commander in Chief asked that he be placed under house arrest. Weak!!
I'm pissed because I lost a friend on 103. Maybe think about both sides before making half-*** comments.
I'm sorry you lost your friend but that doesn't allow you the right to tell LIES. The White House, State Department and Congress had been in touch with Scotland WAY before now and DEMANDED that this man NOT to be released. Even Senator Kennedy (now on his death bed) sent a letter. I'm sure your friend wasn't a liar and no doubt wouldn't appreciate you becoming one on his behalf!
Just like other countries have limited control over how we run our government, we have less control over Scotland than we do England. Scotland doesn't even have a foreign policy so they don't make decisions based on how it will affect us and other nations. The current ruling government in Scotland doesn't get along with the one in England and the Scots aren't getting any oil from Libya.
A large amount of Scottish citizens (including the families of U.K. victims) still believe that someone else committed this crime, that is most likely the ONLY reason why they released this man. The families of U.K. victims simply wanted his appeal to go ahead which would force their government to re-open the investigation.
interesting that the people posting here completely overlook the fact that the US bombed Libya unprovoked 2 years before the Lockerbie bombings.
The simple humane decision of the Scottish government to release the Libyan Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi from prison on compassionate grounds, a man near death from prostate cancer, who was convicted in 2001 on the basis of thin circumstantial evidence and the testimony of a paid witness for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988. A shaky conviction of a man for a crime that had to have involved many others who, it would seem, Britain and the U.S. have little interest in finding, what with Libyan oil in the balance. Mr. al-Megrahi had "patsy" written all over him. The Scots did the right thing. And caused a public uproar, and so what? Right is right.
he only served 8 years for mass murder and think of the message it sends to the next potential bomber when he is greeted with fanfare. I can see your argument if someone were in jail for a less severe crime, but not mass murder.
Yes your're right. Swift you are an idioit in the minoritity.
None of these governments give a rats-*ss about the bomber; this isn't about compassion. The Lockerbie butcher is just a convenient bargaining chip in a deal that will benefit already obscenely wealthy individuals and the governments they get in bed with when it's advantageous to both parties.
This stuff goes on all the time; it's just not for public consumption. Whoever handled this fiasco really messed up big...it got out in the media in ways they surely didn't want. A diplomatic, PR nightmare.
I agree. When anyone is about to die they should be able to spend time with family. From what I have been reading on Uk news pages a lot of people think he was railroaded. It could be those who released him know something we don't know. Even if they do not want to release a prisoner to die they could have a place in the prison where the family could come and stay.
What a sickening person. Think I'll go over to Saddafi's (yes, I know that's not his name) facebook page and leave him some nasty messages.
Serves Mandleson right. I wonder if the Brits will get rid of him.
Here's his page, if anyone else wants to let Saddafi know that despite his London education (right on, spithole), he's a terrorist-loving lowlife.
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=saif gaddafi&init=quick#/pages/Saif-al-Islam-al-Gaddafi/10917256698?v=wall&viewa s=562768839&ref=search
Would the bomber be free today if that plane had been full of Scottish people?
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=saif gaddafi&init=quick#/pages/Saif-al-Islam-al-Gaddafi/10917256698?v=wall&viewa s=562768839&ref=search
This is his facebook wall, the arrogant bastard. Let's let him know that he's considered an asshole here. Playboy, indeed!
(1) The victims who died horribly didn't get mercy at their time of death.
(2) Treating this criminal as a hero--he got a hero's welcome upon release to his home country--shows how sick Libya still is.
(3) A London education does not make anyone less of a barbarian.
(4) A ridiculous Scottish justice system does not make a country any less of an embarrassment for victims and survivors of terrorism.
"The victims who died horribly didn't get mercy at their time of death."
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-So if a killer holds your hand before he/she kills you, THEN you would grant them mercy? That's a ridiculous statement. Dead is dead, it doesn't matter how "nice" the person was to you before they KILLED you.
-A total of 31 people in Scotland have petitioned for "compassionate release" based on terminal illness. A total of 24/31 had medical proof of terminal disease and were thus released. I don't agree with their decision, but it's their country. It's THEIR law. Move there, become a citizen and then run for office to change the law.
P.S. WE HAVE A SIMILAR LAW, DEPENDING ON THE STATE.
I second all you said Spithole.
Fascinating piece. Thanks.
Well,Allah is waiting to bless him with his virgins.That says alot to us.Just receiving him as a hero,is laughing at all.!!!!He will die in peace,he is in his homeland,welcomed and Hurray.
Kudos to him for a well played hand of political poker!
"threatens to topple the Scottish government"
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Where are the signs that the Scottish government is in danger of falling when MOST of the Scottish population (including U.K. victim families) agree with the release of this terrorist?
The article has ZERO evidence to show that Saif Gaddafi was in any ways responsible for the release. It is more of a name-dropping piece about a rich playboy with a big ego. The fact that the writer of the piece used to be a gossip column writer says it all, because it's all gossip.
Why not hire someone to go to Scotland or Libya and actually INVESTIGATE what lead to the release? Because gossip is cheaper and easier?
"Where are the signs that the Scottish government is in danger of falling when MOST of the Scottish population (including U.K. victim families) agree with the release of this terrorist?"
What is your source for this statement? I found this online:
A new UK-wide PoliticsHome poll suggests 53% of the public disapprove of the decision to release the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing on compassionate grounds. Overall, 35% of voters approved of the decision. From the British polling site http://page.politicshome.com/uk/public_disapprove_of_lockerbie_decision.htm l
That same site shows that the British are split in their opinions of "compassionate grounds" releases with 47% opposed and 43% in favor.
Another poll of Brits also shows that the people there were opposed to the early release:
Canadian pollsters AngusReid have conducted a UK poll (on what appears to be a nascent UK panel) on Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's release. The poll was conducted between the 20th and 23rd of August, so presumably almost all after the announcement that he was to be released.
Given the choice of whether to release him on compassionate grounds, transfer him to a Libyan prison, or make him serve his full sentence in Scotland, 15% said they wanted him to be released, 31% transferred to Libya and 48% kept in a Scottish gaol.
There was a cross-break for Scotland, which suggested 22% of Scots supported his release, though given that there would have been very few Scots in a representative UK sample of 1,133 the crossbreak should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. The most interesting polling on the release will probably come when someone gets round to commissioning a proper Scottish poll addressing it.
http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/2226
The Scottish are NOT British. Look up Scottish papers via google and listen to the BBC newshour (podcasts are available on-line).
1) BBC newshour: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003yd42
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003z49y#synopsis
2) The Scotsman newspaper: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/opinion/Focus-on-Megrahi-obscures-fact.5575 431.jp
3) Dr Jim Swire of Scotland, who lost his daughter Flora: "I don't believe for a moment that this man was involved in the way that he was found to have been involved... It's a blow to those of us who seek the truth but it is not an ending. I think it is a splitting of the ways."
4) Katy Kay of the BBC's article on TDB about the reaction Gap between us and the U.K.
5) CNN: on ground interviews in Scotland after the release (I will post clips later).
Your links don't work. Here's a poll of Scots:
No doubt it will be asked about in some of the GB polls to come in the last week of the month, but in the meantime the Sunday Times last weekend reported a Cello mruk poll of Scottish opinion on Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi last weekend. The poll was actually carried out way back in June, but "could not be reported for legal reasons" (presumably in case it influenced his appeal or any future retrial).
Firstly, 60% of people in Scotland said they thought that Megrahi was guilty, with 9% saying he was innocent and 31% unsure. 51% thought he received a fair trial, 10% thought he didn't.
Asked what should be done with him, of those who expressed an opinion (meaning we don't know how many people said they didn't know), 49% said he should remain in gaol, 40% that he should be transferred to a Libyan gaol and 11% that he should be freed on compassionate grounds. So, releasing him was the preferred option for only a tiny minority of Scots...though a majority of those with an opinion did want him sent back to Libya one way or another.
http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/category/scotland
I have no doubt whatsoever that Saif Gaddafi is an exemplary Muslim. There are millions of Muslims who believe that the death of an infidel, man, woman, or child, is a cause for celebration. There are no "innocent" non-Muslims. We now have decades of atrocity that demonstrate this simple fact, yet most Westerners still appear unable to grasp its implications. Men like Saif Gaddafi know very well how simple it is to play Westerners for fools and whores.
Its too bad Reagan didn't send another missle and finish the job!
"There are millions of Muslims who believe that the death of an infidel, man, woman, or child, is a cause for celebration. There are no "innocent" non-Muslims. We now have decades of atrocity that demonstrate this simple fact, yet most Westerners still appear unable to grasp its implications."
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Did I miss some sarcasm here? God I hope so...
There have been billions of Christians throughout time that have murdered, exploited, and ruined entire cultures. If anyone claims to be an "exemplary Christian," are we then to believe they are brutal crusaders that will kill our mothers and rape our daughters if we don't "accept Jesus?"
We dont know for a fact the terrorist is going to die in 6 months
We only have the word of a compromised Scottish politician who is a buddy of this guy and is in the tank or has been played
People live for years with the disease
There he was on the TV, loudly proclaiming how it was HE who had arranged for the release of this man to a heroes welcome by the Lybian slime society.
What kind of people welcome as a hero a man who puts a bomb on a plane full of ordinary people, mothers, kids.
What the kind of hero is that? Welcome to Lybia.
This fellow with his expensive education and retinue of tarts from every corner of the London money world is possibly
one of the most revolting people in recent memory.
It's enough to turn you against the rich and pampered.
The piece leaves out actual investigative reporting. The people in Libya aren't celebrating the killing of innocent people, they think he is innocent and are celebrating the release of what THEY see as a "wronged man" sent to jail on false evidence. I may not agree with them but I think it's important to keep the facts of the story straight.
Oh the Libyan people are so nice and innocent. Cry me a friggin river.
If you know FACTUAL things about the Libyans take on this story then say it instead of making childish statements. Thanks.
you have been one of the voices of reason here..going a step further, one mans' terrorist is anothers man's freedon fighter? SINN FEIN anyone? among other too numerous to list..oh wait, the united states has soldiers everywhere who are frequently photographed holding guns, and they're not using them to hunt food,etc. they go where they are sent, and they kill who they are told to kill..sorta like an eye of the beholder kind of thing.....
Reporting on reactions from Libya.
http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=3486
Tripoli Post....as if.
why do we continue to play into the charade that this poor man (Megrahi) is actually guilty? anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to this case and how it has developed knows that Megrahi is the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice and was targeted only after it became politically expedient to ignore the identities of the true perpetrators of the Lockerbie tragedy (Syria and Iran) because the US realized that it needed Syria's support in the run up to the first Gulf War (which Libya, incidentally, opposed).
In the months leading up to Lockerbie, Khomeini publicly offered $10 million to anyone who could make American "blood fall from the sky," in order to avenge the victims on Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian airliner shot out of the sky by a US missile in July of 1988, resulting in the deaths of all 290 on board.
until the support of Syria was needed for the Gulf War, every agency investigating the crash had been entirely focused on and utterly convinced of the guilt of the PFLP-GC, an extremist group backed by both Syria and Iran that was known to be operating out of Frankfurt. this was known because the cell in Frankfurt had been raided in the months prior to Lockerbie, resulting in the discovery of the existence of 5 bombs like the one used in Lockerbie. strangely, only 4 of these bombs were ever located.
i understand the instinct for vengeance, but against an innocent man?
Good luck passing the bar, Student.
Do you have any links or facts to back this up?
Do a google search on the original investigation of the Lockerbie bombing.
giving *Libya* a bad name? was it good before?
I am wondering about this bombing of Libya by us. I know a quick internet search would enlighten me but can someone fill me in? Without know anything about the situations that led up to it, seems to me that Libya was attacked first.
There is simply no way any Government
can be trusted to look after your interest.
If a member of your family is harmed in
a terrorist/government attack you have the right
to settle it YOUR way in whatever way you see fit!
You will NOT get any justice from anywhere else...
Well,Ill grant everyone here,a truce. If you prove this man was not guilty then they can dance in the streets. He probably was the fallguy also for his govt. I do not think these men work on their own,they would be afraid their own leaders would kill them. But until you have no concrete proof,that he was innocent, and proove it to the world,this is a travesty of humanity.A joke,A mass murderer,who will be rewarded in heaven with Allah with who knows how many virgins, and dying of prostrate cancer.!!Its ironic.And the Muslim people, the good decent, Muslimgs should condemn him with the whole world.His acts were of terrorist,cowards,killing innocent.
Well, so why was this article written? Are we to admire the fact that he pals around with rich globalists? A babe-magnet, a culture vultur with degrees....
Can you spell TAQIYYA!!
Obama should rendition this loathsome punk. And while he's at it, he should send a Predator drone to take out his equally loathsome father.
I see you still believe in Bush/Cheney principles......"Bomb now, we'll be greeted as heroes" mentality. Why are Americans so historically short-sighted and thirsty for blood?
I read nothing in this article as to how he got this terrorist out of jail. What did he say to convince Scotland? What was the actual deal? Saying he was the center of the decision is on thing, but from what I read here there is nothing to show he had anything to do with the negotiations and what it was all about. This is just a fluff piece of junk.
Bingo!
He's giving Libya a bad name? How good was Libya's standing to begin with?
Maybe someday this nice young man will settle down and marry one of the young ladies he's been sparking.
I beleive as convicted he should have been left to die in prison. People die of old age and illness in prison all the time.
What bothers me more in the article is are bombing of a soviergn leaders home and the end result killling his children. I know I know He deserved it. Think of what are reaction would be if Obamas was targeted on vacation with his family what US sentiment might be
Thank you.
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