15.07.10 Libya Focus
Lockerbie bomber major source of irritation for Britain and US
Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi back in Libya
The question of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, has again surfaced as a major source of irritation between the Americans and
the British. In brief, al-Megrahi has lived almost a year since his original
August 2009 liberation from jail in Scotland, when the prognosis was that he
would
die in the immediate future – i.e. within three months.
In early July 2010, a group of US senators demanded that there should be an
investigation into whether al-Megrahi was rightfully released, given the awful
death
toll of 270 on PanAm flight 103 in 1988. The senators are eager to have al-Megrahi retained under
prison conditions rather than enjoy the fruits of his association with the
regime
in a mansion in Tripoli.
This division of opinion will not help Libya, as continuing discontent in the US
on this issue will prolong the period of antagonism between Tripoli and
Washington.
The security situation is reported by diplomatic sources in Libya to be well
under control. The scale of the arms acquisitions from Russia and parts of the
former eastern bloc indicate that the mobile, armoured forces are being
reinforced
with equipment designed more for control of domestic circumstances rather than
to
counter the threat of foreign invasion.
It must be assumed that armaments at the disposal of the Security Brigades will remain at a higher standard than the renovated tanks and associated
weaponry currently being imported. There are no challenges from abroad where
the
opposition is quiet and, as long as Colonel Qadhafi remains active, the domestic scene will also be under rigid control.
For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.
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