PrintAugust 21, 2011
A quiet anniversary celebration in Tripoli
Now that Mr. Obama's unauthorized "days not weeks" war in Libya has staggered into its fifth month, NATO backed rebel forces are approaching the capitol of Tripoli. The United Nations is planning to evacuate thousands of stranded foreigners from the besieged city by sea as the Gaddafi regime fights a desperate battle for its survival.
Two years ago there was the sound of gunfire in Tripoli as al-Qaeda celebrated the early release of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi (The Lockerbie Bomber). Barack Obama roared disapprovingly at the controversial decision to release al-Megrahi, even though CNN.com reported that Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill had consulted with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder prior to the release of the Lockerbie Bomber for humanitarian reasons.
At the time of his release physicians in Scotland had said that al-Megrahi was suffering from terminal prostate cancer and was not expected to live more than three months. Yes, that would be months not years. Yesterday in Tripoli friends and family of al-Megrahi gathered to celebrate the second anniversary of his release from prison. Once again the sound of gunfire could be heard in Tripoli.
The UK Daily Mail reports that al-Megrahi has been taking a costly new cancer medication developed in London, but not yet approved for use by the NHS.
Megrahi has been taking Abiraterone, the hormone-based therapy drug discovered by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London.A study at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London in 2007 found it dramatically improved the condition of up to 70 per of prostate cancer patients.But despite pharmaceutical firm Johnson and Johnson preparing to market the drug under the name Zytiga, its cost is estimated at a prohibitive £3,000 a month.'Brother Al-Megrahi has received the very best treatment, including Abiraterone,' revealed a medical source.Consultant urologist professor Roger Kirby, founder and director of The Prostate Centre in London, said: 'He has long outlived the speculative three-month prognosis and it appears he may continue to do so for a while yet. I strongly suspect that this drug has been central to that.'
Several weeks ago it was revealed that the Obama administration was working on a secret plan in which Libyan rebels would be assured of continued U.S. support in exchange for their assistance in capturing al-Megrahi and turning him over to U.S. forces. The plan was to return the Lockerbie Bomber to America for a show trial as a means of boosting Mr. Obama's plunging poll numbers. Now that the Libyan rebels are approaching Tripoli (last known location of al-Megrahi) it will be interesting to see if the Obama plot to use the Lockerbie Bomber for his own political purposes will come into play.
Early in Mr. Obama's unauthorized war in Libya it was learned that many members of al-Qaeda had been recruited to fight with the rebel forces. I can't help but to wonder how many of the rebels that are firing on Tripoli today were among those firing their weapons in celebration of al-Megrahi's release two years ago.
August 21, 2011
