September 8, 2009, - 1:04 pm
On Megrahi Release, Follow the $: Scottish Judge’s Bro Has Biz in Libya; UK Suddenly Backs IRA Victims Suit Against Libya
Whenever they say it’s not about money or oil but about humanitarian relief for a dying man, it’s usually about money or oil.
And such is the case with the Scottish release of convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bombing mastermind, Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi.
Now it’s come out that the brother of Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill–the man who made the ultimate decision to release Al-Magrahi–has business in Libya. (Reminds me of when George W. Bush wanted to hand over our ports to his brother’s United Arab Emirates patrons.)
To quote Gomer Pyle, Surprahz, surprahz:
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who recently released the Lockerbie bomber, has a brother who is an energy-industry executive and who has worked at firms that have pitched for oil business in Libya.
The Scottish government, which has said that it made full disclosure of facts relevant to the decision, didn’t disclose this relationship. . . .
Over the years, Allan MacAskill has worked for several companies that sought oil business in Libya. Allan MacAskill says he didn’t work on any of his employers’ Libyan oil proposals, and added that he has never discussed the Lockerbie case with his younger brother Kenny.
Uh-huh. Well, if you say so.
Mr. MacAskill is business development director at a firm that develops offshore wind farms, SeaEnergy Renewables.
Kenny MacAskill last month prompted an international uproar with his decision to release Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the 1988 bombing of a Pan-Am flight that killed 270 people. Mr. al-Megrahi had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, allowing him to be granted a so-called compassionate release.
“[Kenny MacAskill’s] my brother and he is a minister of the Scottish government, anything to do with Megrahi is nothing to do with me,” Allan MacAskill said on Monday. “We [SeaEnergy] have nothing to do with it.”
I’ll bet.
Mr. MacAskill joined oil giant BP PLC in 1977. BP has admitted that it lobbied the U.K. over a controversial prisoner-transfer agreement between the U.K. and Libya. In 1998, after 20 years at BP, Mr. MacAskill joined Talisman Energy and last year moved on to SeaEnergy Renewables. . . .
Mr. MacAskill tapped into his brother’s energy expertise in 2005 for a book of essays the Scots politician edited called “Agenda for a New Scotland.” Allan MacAskill co-wrote one piece which called for government and commercial intervention to ensure the estimated 30 billion barrels of unproduced hydrocarbon is extracted from the North Sea and so secure thousands of jobs in the industry.
But, while they worked so closely on energy issues, I’m sure they didn’t ever discuss Libya or Megrahi.
And if you believe that, I have some land on the shores of Tripoli to sell you.
And the same land is for sale to you if you believe that the British government’s sudden decision to support an IRA victims lawsuit against Libya is unrelated to the Megrahi release. And you know what they say–timing is everything. Now that the UK has released Megrahi, the IRA bombing victims can get their gazillion dollar settlements, just like the Lockerbie victims’ families did. (Libya admittedly shipped tons of weapons to the IRA, including plastic explosive Semtex, in the mid-’80s.)
As the French would say, Quelle coincidence [Whatta coincidence]!
Yup, Mr. Megrahi wasn’t released because he was “dying of cancer.” He was released because he’s worth millions to a lot of people–millions in oil business to the Scottish Justice Secretary’s bro and millions in pounds to IRA victims’ families.
Cha-ching, Cha-ching, Cha-ching.
Tags: Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi, Abdel Baset Ali Al-Megrahi, Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, Allan MacAskill, BP, British government, brother, brothers, IRA, IRA victims, IRA victims lawsuit, Kenny MacAskill, lawsuit, Libya, Lockerbie, Megrahi, oil, Pan Am 103, Scotland, Scottish, Scottish Justice Secretary, suit, UK
If Al-Megrahi really does have prostate cancer, they should have treated his disease in the UK health system before shipping him home. It would be the humanitarian thing to do since the UK health care system is so superior to so many other developed countries. This would make sure that he goes home in a pine box.
Jarhead on September 8, 2009 at 2:00 pm