Pan Am Flight 103
On December 21st, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 flying from London Heathrow Airport to JFK Airport in New York was destroyed by a bomb. The debris landed in and around the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 passengers and 11 more citizens on the ground.
Robert Fisk – Appeal
Recently, I read in the Independent newspaper that Robert Fisk has asked readers to write to him, if they know of any official lies that were told about the crash, so that some evidence of a government cover-up can be unearthed.
Al Megrahi – Miscarriage of Justice?
On January 31st, 2001, a Libyan, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was convicted of the murder of the 270 people. The following year his appeal against the conviction was rejected. In his reports of February 2001 and March 2002 Professor Hans Kochler, working on behalf of the UN Secretary-General as an international observer at the trial at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, described the decisions as a "spectacular miscarriage of justice." Al Megrahi was largely convicted on the evidence of a Maltese man, who testimony was discredited after the trial. Al Megrahi is still serving his sentence in Greenock prison in Scotland.
The USS Vincennes
On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes, a United States Navy missile cruiser, shot down an Iran Air civilian air liner killing all 290 passengers. The sophisticated Aegis technology aboard the USS Vincennes mistook the Airbus for an F-14 fighter about a third of the size. The Vincennes also miscalculated the altitude of the plane by 3,000 feet and showed it to be descending towards the ship when it was actually ascending and flying away from the cruiser. Instead of condemning the crew, the US Navy awarded medals.
Reagan Sides with Saddam
Ronald Reagan blamed Iran for the disaster because it had refused to accept a UN ceasefire in the war with Iraq in which Ronnie was backing Saddam Hussein against Ayatollah Khomeini.
Unanswered Questions
I hope that Robert Fisk’s plea produces evidence which will provide answers to some of the questions that remain unanswered. Why did then South African Foreign Secretary Pik Botha and his party cancel their seats on the plane? Why were the CIA guarding certain parts of the wreckage even before the local constabulary reached the same location? What was the real motive for the bombing and why would Libya admit guilt when they weren’t to blame?
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