Gadhafi: Lockerbie Is Over, 'Legally, Politically, Financially'

Al-Megrahi says he only has 'days, weeks, months' to live

(NEWSER) - From a bed at his Tripoli home, a frail-looking Abdel Basset al-Megrahi insisted to Reuters that his role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was smaller than people think. "The West exaggerated my name. Please leave me alone. I only have a few more days, weeks, or months" to live, said al-Megrahi, who was released from a Scottish prison two years ago due to his terminal cancer. "The facts (about the Lockerbie bombing) will become clear one day and hopefully in the near future. In a few months from now, you will see new facts that will be announced," he said. More»

Ex-Justice minister says he has proof to back up claim

(NEWSER) - Libya’s ex-justice minister says that Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing—and that he can prove it. “I have proof that Gadhafi gave the order,” Mustafa Abdel-Jalil told a Swedish tabloid, according to the AP . “To hide it, he (Gadhafi) did everything in his power to get al-Megrahi back from Scotland.” More»

British intelligence also suggests 'imminent death' was a stretch

(NEWSER) - The Guardian highlights WikiLeaks cables surrounding the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi , freed by Scotland last year because he supposedly had only a few months to live. The cables show that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's government put "thuggish" pressure on Britain to make sure Megrahi went free. "Specific threats have included the immediate cessation of all UK commercial activity in Libya, a diminishment or severing of political ties, and demonstrations against official UK facilities," wrote the US ambassador. More»

Buried in 96-minute diatribe was a smart UN reform proposal

(NEWSER) - His swine flu conspiracy theories and who-shot-JFK musings may have got the headlines, but Moammar Gadhafi actually made a few good points during his 96-minute monologue at the UN General Assembly, blogs Gideon Rachman. The Libyan colonel is totally right that the Security Council is outdated and doesn't represent the world well, and he accurately outlined the difficulties of reform: offer one country a seat and another pops right up. Unfortunately, calling it "the terror council" does tend to turn fellow UN reformers off. More»

(NEWSER) - Maybe he just needs a good night's sleep (somewhere). Moammar Gadhafi made such a long and rambling speech today—his main point seemed to be to rail against the Security Council's power—that he wore out his first translator. Some odds and ends:

• He suggested Israel had a hand in the JFK assassination.
• Swine flu might be a military weapon that leaked from a lab.
• He complained at length of jet lag and having to get up early for the meeting.
• On that note, he suggested moving the UN out of New York: "You will thank me for not having to travel for 20 hours to this place."