Not Our Fault!
"I don't think there's any great mystery here. There was a decision taken by the Scottish executive - in my view, a wholly wrong and misguided decision, a bad decision - but their decision, nonetheless. I don't think we need an extra inquiry to tell us that that's what happened." British Prime Minister David Cameron"Let us not confuse the oil spill with the Libyan Bomber", Prime Minister Cameron cautioned reporters. No, not to be confused; the oil spill is one devastating accident with which BP is being charged, a charge that has enraged the American public, a situation encouraged by the American administration which itself has no wish to be blamed for its lack of adequate oversight.
So, don't confuse them. Yet, of course, BP is an oil producer, one of Britain's largest, most important, greatest wealth-producing international corporations, and should that corporation fail as a result of the fall-out of the Gulf spill and the follow-up (6-B and growing emergency repair and clean-up; $20-B reparations) Britain's economy would be hobbled, disastrously. So there's that issue, and its regrettable, and Mr. Cameron admits BP's responsibility.
At the same time, reminding America of the unassailable fact that giant corporations which have tentacles throughout the world, affecting the global economy, bring much employment also. "I completely understand the anger that exists right across America. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a catastrophe for the environment, for the fishing industry, for tourism." But remember all those jobs - on both sides of the Atlantic. Case made. Point acknowledged.
But this other issue, the one that he stood before the cameras and the reporters to discuss briefly, that's something else entirely. This, an issue which smacks of British government culpability. Wrong. Whitehall was not involved, certainly not. Not us. BP lobbied the Scottish government. Not the British government as well? BP, in this instance, concerned for its Libyan oil contracts; just incidentally, Tony Blair as well.
But it was the Scottish government, convinced, so they said, that they should release the former Libyan spy, convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, on compassionate grounds. His advanced cancer left the poor man a mere month of excruciatingly painful existence. The 270 people who died aboard Pan Am Flight 103, on the other hand, never knew what hit them, they simply died, did not suffer as Mr. al-Megrahi did.
The government of Scotland, needless to say, got their marching orders from London. And then had to figure out how they could possibly serve both masters. The pretext that humanitarian concerns trumped the need to exact justice on behalf of the 270 dead of a terrorist attack simply did not age well. Since Mr. al-Megrahi, who returned home to Libya as a national hero will yet outlive his death due-date.
"I'm not currently minded to hold an inquiry." His is the last word, is it not?
Labels: Britain, Economy, Middle East, Terrorism, United States
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, July 21, 2010
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