I am as outraged as anyone by the Scottish Justice Minister releasing a convicted Libyan terrorist, who brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December, 1988, killing all 259 people aboard and eleven on the ground. Even if he has terminal cancer is no reason to have released him, allowing him to go back to Libya, to a hero’s welcome, by a government which promoted terrorism and is still in power today under Colonel Quaddafi after 40 years of dictatorship.
But President Obama, unfortunately, was much too tame in his response. Deploring the development, but doing nothing else behind the scenes and in public during the period when this occurrence was being contemplated, is a tremendous mistake by the President. Contacting the Libyan government and asking that this terrorist not be greeted, as he ended up being received, was a total disaster.
I think the answer is to condemn publicly how the Libyan government has handled this situation, and the renewal of Libya on the list of terrorist nations. George W. Bush decided to remove Libya a couple of years ago because of so called “cooperation”, and supposed giving up of all nuclear material that could be used in weapons.
I always had doubt about the wisdom of Bush’s move, and I think this action by Libya requires a harsh response, even if it undermines relations with the Arab and Islamic world. If we do not take a strong stand against a mass murderer and the regime that sponsored him, then we are in deep trouble in regards to national security in the future. Such a development would tremendously undermine any possibility of serious Obama success during his Presidency.