Don’t roll out red carpet for Libyan leader Gadhafi

Of the 270 people who died as a result of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, 189 were Americans. Of those, 97 were residents of New York and New Jersey.

It is alleged that the bombing was orchestrating by Libya’s intelligence service, which would make Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as guilty as the only man convicted of the terrorist attack, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.

Indeed, the images of Gadhafi embracing al-Megrahi two weeks ago at the airport in Tripoli after he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds leads to the conclusion that this is a man with no moral underpinning.

Gadhafi may use his country’s oil wealth to bully nations that aren’t energy independent, but he can’t bully the families of the Americans who died in the destruction of Pan Am 103.

Gadhafi, who is to visit the United States this month to address the U.N. General Assembly, had planned to stay at an estate owned by the Libyan government in Englewood, N.J. But the plan has sparked angry protests from residents and government officials, including Congressman Steve Rothman. Late last week, the Libyan government, which is represented by former U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston in Washington, D.C., announced that Gadhafi would not be staying in Englewood. It has been reported that he could remain in Manhattan.

But the residents of New York would also be justified in protesting his presence in the financial capital of the world. After all, they are no strangers to acts of terrorism and know that individuals of Gadhafi’s ilk are responsible for this global phenomenon.

The emotional and physical scars of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America’s mainland that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 are still fresh. The images of the World Trade Center twin towers collapsing after being slammed by fuel laden commercial jet planes hijacked by terrorists will never fade.

While Libya had no connection to 9/11, which was carried out by members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist organization, the distinctions are hard to make.

Lack of sensitivity

Gadhafi’s despicable behavior two weeks ago in welcoming home the Pan Am bomber demonstrates his lack of sensitivity for the families of the victims.

It does not matter that the Scottish government’s cockeyed view of compassion resulted in al-Megrahi’s being sent home because he supposedly is dying. There was no need for the leader of Libya to give him a hero’s welcome. The idea that al-Megrahi was unjustly convicted by a panel of Scottish judges and sentenced to life in prison is ridiculous. There was testimony from many witnesses and experts, and the bomber’s guilt was evident. It is unfortunate that there weren’t others who were convicted.

The destruction of Flight 103 required a lot of planning by a lot of people. To believe that it was the act of a single individual is to believe that global terrorism does not exist, or that the people of Libya have suddenly become pro-America.

The willingness of countries such as Great Britain to curry favor with Gadhafi is driven by one thing: economics. Libya is an oil-rich country that is being courted by industrialized and growing nations. The global competition for oil is intense.

The Libyan leader needs to be taught a lesson — that illegal actions have consequences. He should not be given red carpet treatment when he visits the United States this month.