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LOCKERBIE BOMBER FREE AND READY TO GO AGAIN

August 20 2009

Tripoli, Libya – Before Al Qaeda, before the Taliban, there was Libya. The once rogue African nation was for a decade the heart of anti-western terrorism. Equipped with a brutal dictator and seemingly endless numbers of people looking to bomb, hijack, and
otherwise terrorize foreigners the very name of the country evoked images of wanton destruction. Though still beset with the same dictator relations with the country have normalized in recent years. Terrorism has moved west into the Middle East and Persia, but the memories of two decades ago are still fresh in people’s minds.

Perhaps no other terrorist incident in the 1980’s better personified the horror that Libya was able to inflict on the world than the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The destruction of that plane over rural Lockerbie, Scotland killed 270 people and became the breaking point between Libya and the west. Now two decades later the mastermind of the bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, has been freed on compassionate grounds after he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Now at home and receiving a hero’s welcome he has declared himself fit and ready to start planning another attack.

“The world has changed in more ways than one since al-Megrahi was put in jail and he has entered into that world. He is feeling ill but feels he is strong enough to continue work at least in a limited capacity but does want to ensure that he can get things together quickly. He may be feeling alright now but that will not last and he wants to make sure that he is healthy enough to make things happen,” said a Libyan insider. “For a long time there really was no one better than us when it came to things like bombings but obviously things have changed in recent years. Libya is a much more peaceful place and attacks against the West have taken a totally different form. We still feel a need to prove ourselves though and want to show the world that we still have what it takes.”

Despite some early efforts the bombing of planes is considered passé amongst many in the modern terrorist movement with many now targeting larger and more important targets.

“Really up until the bombing of the USS Cole a lot of terrorists were just kind of going for whatever target they could find and hitting that. Planes were seen as valuable target because of the amount of people involved and the relative ease at that time of blowing one up meant they were the choice du jour. The Cole and of course 9/11 upped the ante significantly and I don’t think we will see a self respecting terrorist just blowing up a commuter plane anytime soon,” said Scrape TV Terrorism analyst Doug Davids. “Because of that I think it’s going to be very hard for al-Megrahi to adjust. It’s very likely that he was actually innocent of the Lockerbie bombings and with so many years out of action his connections will have dried up. He is a celebrity and that isn’t without weight but that will likely only draw lower grade terrorists, the kind of people who really can’t dream beyond an airliner.”

Since the rise of Al Qaeda a strict hierarchy amongst terrorists has evolved leading many experienced actors cautious with whom they affiliate.

“Someone of his profile can’t be seen to be in league with just anyone. Aside from his reputation this will likely be his last kick at the can and he wants to make sure he goes out right. Spending time with goofballs and stick-em-up kids isn’t the way for the Lockerbie bomber to end his career,” continued Davids. “Luckily he will have a lot of support in Libya. The country has largely normalized and even advanced quite significantly in a lot of ways but it’s still not that far removed from its heyday. If nothing else I’m sure Gaddafi will still have few tricks up his sleeve, especially for a local boy.”

Officially Libya has denounced terrorism but very few people have ever trusted them. 

Emil Uliya, International Correspondent

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