Lockerbie+Cover-up+Part+2,+The+Lie+Unravels,+Sanders+Research

Sanders Research, England, Feb/19/2007
=The Lockerbie Cover-up (Part II - The Lie Unravels)=


 * By Carlton Meyer**

It is obvious to anyone who researches this issue that the Lockerbie bombing was one of the largest cover-ups in history. This case demonstrates how the major media is easily silenced in the western world. The truth is can be found in fragments of articles from reputable news organizations. However, no major news organization is willing to expose the overall lie.

The CIA led effort to blame Libya for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland was successful until Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) agent Lester Coleman decided to blow the whistle and write a book. He had grown furious at American policies in the region, especially the Iran-Contra affair in which President Reagan secretly allowed the sale of "surplus" U.S. Army weapons, parts, and munitions to Iran to raise funds to support the "Contra" terror group in Nicaragua.

The publication of Coleman's book "Trail of the Octopus" was halted by U.S. federal courts because of DIA claims of libel. This is normally a civil matter that arises after publication, but suppressing the truth requires preemption. While attempting to clear his book for publication, Coleman submitted an affidavit that a bag of heroin, bound for a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) drug sting, was switched for a bag of explosives on Pan Am 103. A federal judge declared it false and ordered Coleman arrested for perjury. He was released several months later and fled to Sweden where he was granted political asylum. Coleman was later subpoenaed to testify at the Lockerbie trial, but was prevented since he had been found guilty of perjury as part of the court proceedings to block the publication of his book. He was later cleared of perjury by a court of appeal. The judges issued a sealed ruling, which meant that Coleman and his lawyers couldn't read why his conviction was overturned.

Since publication was blocked in the USA, Coleman declared his book public domain and it enjoyed a brief publication run in England. Some expensive collector copies can be found on the Internet today. In addition to Lockerbie, the book relates Coleman's life story and his experiences working in the DIA and the realities of Middle East politics during the 1980s. The story ends with the Coleman family adjusting to life as political asylum seekers in Sweden.

While the suppression of Coleman's book was mostly successful, another problem arose when a documentary film on the bombing was released by Hemar Enterprises in November 1994.[|[1]]

“//The Maltese Double Cross – Lockerbie// took a critical look at both the evidence and witnesses surrounding the case.The film disputes the accusation by Britain and America that Libya was behind the bombing, concluding instead that the bomb was most likely introduced onto the aircraft by an unwitting drug mule, Khaled Jafaar, in a DIA-protected suitcase. Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, former prime minister of Iran, lends his weight to the theory that the Lockerbie bombing was in retaliation for the shoot down by the USS Vincennes of Iran Air Flight 655 five months earlier.

The film was to have been shown at the London Film Festival in 1994 but was withdrawn at the last minute because of the threat of a libel action by a U.S. official, believed to have been Michael Hurley of the DEA. Instead, Labour MP, Tam Dalyell, arranged for the film to be screened in the House of Commons on November 16, 1994. Other scheduled screenings at student's unions in the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick were pulled, as was the showing at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London – all for legal reasons. The UK's Channel 4 television finally broadcast the film on May 11, 1995. Because of hostility by lawyers and by some relatives of Pan Am 103's U.S. victims, the film has never been shown on television or in movie theaters in the USA."

After the book and film were suppressed, yet another problem arose. Economic sanctions had hurt Libya, so Gadaffi relented and surrendered the two accused Libyans for trial by a Scottish court. Trial preparations went on for years, and the trial itself went poorly for the prosecution. There were three major weaknesses. The first involved the fragment of the timing device that was found in the wreckage of the plane and that led US authorities to suspect Libyan agents. The Swiss manufacturer testified that the device found at Lockerbie was not the type delivered to Libya in the past. The stunned judges declared a two week recess. An FBI forensic researcher then testified to overrule the manufacturer's claim. He was later fired for falsifying laboratory data in other high-profile cases.[|[2]]

The second weakness of the case involved the Malta connection. The boutique owner Tony Gauci was questioned 16 times, but never clearly identified the Libyan agent thought to have purchased the scarf found in the Pan Am 103 wreckage where the timing device was embedded. At the time of his alleged visit, the Libyan was 14 years younger than the man first described by Gauci. In addition, Gauci maintained that Mohammed Abu Talb of the PFLP-GC is more likely to have been the man who visited his store. The third and major weakness of the case was the star witness. This Libyan defector moved to the US and offered help to the FBI in 1991. The FBI then took him into its witness protection program and paid him a reward for testimony that Libya downed Pan Am 103..

While this trial received heavy news coverage, most was shallow. Reporters must have sensed a rigged system, but editors of major media outlets know better than to report about "conspiracy theories," although several reporters wrote stories pointing to PFLP-GC involvement. Oddly, only one Libyan was convicted and the other set free. A compromise by Scottish judges?

After the trial, Libya agreed to take the blame and compensate families of the victims in exchange for lifting sanctions. On August 15, 2003 Libya's UN ambassador, Ahmed Own, submitted a letter to the UN Security Council formally accepting "responsibility for the actions of its officials" in relation to the Lockerbie bombing. The Libyan government then proceeded to pay compensation to each family of US$8 million (from which legal fees of about US$2.5 million were deducted) and, as a result, the UN canceled sanctions and U.S. ties were restored.

However, problems continue to arise as key characters involved speak out. Recently, several damning news articles appeared that were ignored by the major corporate media. Here are parts of three:

#1 - Police chief — Lockerbie evidence was faked
By Marcello Mega – //News Scotsman// – Aug 28, 2005

“A former Scottish police chief has given lawyers a signed statement claiming that key evidence in the Lockerbie bombing trial was fabricated. The retired officer — of assistant chief constable rank or higher — has testified that the CIA planted the tiny fragment of circuit board crucial in convicting a Libyan for the 1988 mass murder of 270 people.

The officer, who was a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland, is supporting earlier claims by a former CIA agent that his bosses 'wrote the script' to incriminate Libya... A source close to Megrahi's defence said: "Britain and the US were telling the world it was Libya, but in their private communications they acknowledged that they knew it was the PFLP-GC.

'The case is starting to unravel largely because when they wrote the script, they never expected to have to act it out. Nobody expected agreement for a trial to be reached, but it was, and in preparing a manufactured case, mistakes were made.'" Note: The full article is linked in this footnote.[|[3]]

#2 - Lockerbie retrial demand over new evidence
by Murdo Macleod – //News Scotsman// – Oct. 15, 2006 "German investigators established that a Palestinian terrorist called Abo Talb, funded by Iran, could have placed the bomb on board Pan Am flight 103. They also established that the Iranian government paid millions of dollars into a Swiss bank account belonging to one of Talb's colleagues two days after the Lockerbie bombing.

However, Talb was produced at the trial as a vital witness for the prosecution, in return for lifetime immunity from prosecution. Defence sources claim this provided the motive for the Crown to suppress the German evidence... Meanwhile, the Libyan's defence team is understood to be furious at the failure of the Crown to comply with standard trial procedure. A source close to the defence said: 'The Crown refused to hand over these vital documents. That is unacceptable and a complete breach of all the rules about 'equality of arms' and disclosure and a fair trial.'

Jim Swire, spokesman for the Lockerbie families, said: 'We have always believed that the man in jail for the bombing should not be there. This seems to be a very important step in proving that and getting justice for the victims of the bombing.'"

Note: The full article is linked in this footnote.[|[4]]

#3 - Lockerbie trial was a CIA fix, US intelligence insider claims
By Liam McDougall - //Sunday Herald// - Nov. 13 2006

“Michael Scharf, who was the counsel to the US counter-terrorism bureau when the two Libyans were indicted for the bombing, described the case as “so full of holes it was like Swiss cheese” and said it should never have gone to trial...

He claimed the CIA and FBI had assured State Department officials there was an 'iron-clad' case against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and al-Amin Khalifa Fimah, but that in reality the intelligence agencies had no confidence in their star witness and knew well in advance of the trial that he was 'a liar.' Scharf branded the case a 'whitewash' and added: 'It was a trial where everybody agreed ahead of time that they were just going to focus on these two guys, and they were the fall guys.'”

Note: The full article is linked in this footnote.[|[5]]

These recent revelations have caused the Scottish legal system great embarrassment as this new evidence resulted in appeals to free the Libyan wrongly convicted. It is obvious to anyone who researches this issue that the Lockerbie bombing was one of the largest cover-ups in history. This case demonstrates how the major media is easily silenced in the western world. The truth is can be found in fragments of articles from reputable news organizations. However, no major news organization is willing to expose the overall lie, although the irreverent news on-line encyclopedia “Wikipedia” has organized much of the of evidence for anyone to read on the Internet. In addition, the on-line [|news.scotsman.com] continues to report on this cover-up.[|[6]]

Of course the American and British governments will never admit to the obvious truth. It would not only prove embarrassing, but require the prosecution of those involved in fabricating and suppressing evidence. It would be impossible to explain to families of the victims why the likely bomber, Abo Talb, had been granted immunity from prosecution. In addition, Libya would deserve compensation for money it paid these families and possibly for the effects of the unwarranted economic embargo. As a result, this part of history will remain a boldfaced lie.

[|[1]] “[|The Maltese Double Cross]”. [|[2]] "[|What really happened on Flight 103?]”; //Guardian Unlimited// ; Feb. 27, 2000. [|[3]] “[|Police Chief – Lockerbie Evidence was faked]”; //News Scotsman// ; Aug. 28, 2005. [|[4]] "[|Lockerbie retrial demand over new evidence]"; //Scotsman//; Oct. 15, 2006. [|[5]] “[|Lockerbie trial was a CIA fix]”; //Sunday Herald// ; Nov. 13, 2006. [|[6]] “[|Lockerbie articles] ”; //News Scotsman// ;.

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 * From: http://www.sandersresearch.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1128&Itemid=62

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