http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0rLVZ1DGpY&tracker=False&NR=1
Iran Air Flight 655 July 3rd 1988 - National Geographic 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl4xVecioZI&feature=related
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/flight801/stories/july88crash.htm
Excerpt:
Navy Missile Downs Iranian Jetliner
By George C. WilsonWashington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 4, 1988; Page A01
A U.S. warship fighting gunboats in the Persian Gulf yesterday mistook an Iranian civilian jetliner for an attacking Iranian F14 fighter plane and blew it out of the hazy sky with a heat-seeking missile, the Pentagon announced. Iran said 290 persons were aboard the European-made A300 Airbus and that all had perished.
"The U.S. government deeply regrets this incident," Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference.
The disaster occurred at mid-morning over the Strait of Hormuz, when the airliner, Iran Air Flight 655, on what Iran described as a routine 140-mile flight from its coastal city of Bandar Abbas southwest to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, apparently strayed too close to two U.S. Navy warships that were engaged in a battle with Iranian gunboats.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1553044/Blair-Gaddafi-and-the-BP-oil-deal.html
Excerpt:
Blair, Gaddafi and the BP oil deal
Mr Blair described the talks as 'positive and constructive'
The tent was decorated with imprints of camels and shuddered with every gust of Saharan wind.
In this unlikely setting, Tony Blair met Col Muammar Gaddafi in the depths of the Libyan desert yesterday and sought to demonstrate how British diplomacy has transformed a pariah state into an ally.
Col Gaddafi, once paymaster and arms dealer to the IRA and a host of other terrorist groups, is now on first name terms with the Prime Minister.
While Ronald Reagan once referred to the Libyan leader as a "mad dog" and sent American bombers to strike Tripoli, Mr Blair pays tribute to a reliable ally.
"There is nothing I've ever agreed with him that should be done that hasn't been done," the Prime Minister said before the meeting. "It shows that it is possible to go from a situation where Libya was an outcast from the international community to a situation where our relationship has been transformed."
Mr Blair was greeted with great fanfare when he landed at Sirte airport yesterday. Beneath a large poster of Col Gaddafi, a guard of honour presented arms and a motley brass band struck up a merry cacophony bearing some resemblance to God Save The Queen.
Col Gaddafi, unshaven, unkempt and swathed in brown robes, smiled thinly as Mr Blair arrived in his tent. Afterwards, the Prime Minister described their talks as "positive and constructive".
Britain and Libya will co-operate more closely in the fight against terrorism and their rapprochement was good for both countries and the "wider region", he said.
The key moments in Libya's transformation came in December 2003, when Col Gaddafi handed over his entire inventory of weapons of mass destruction to British and American experts, and also revealed an illegal stockpile of chemical munitions and a covert nuclear weapons programme.
In addition, Libya disclosed details of its suppliers, which allowed Britain and America to prove that Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former head of Pakistan's nuclear programme, had been running a "nuclear supermarket" selling the key components for making atomic bombs to the highest bidders.
Prior to this, Libya had one by one removed other obstacles to better relations with the West. It agreed to pay compensation to the families of the 270 people who died when PanAm flight 173 was destroyed over Lockerbie in 1988. Two Libyan intelligence agents were handed over for trial and one was convicted of placing a bomb on board.
Also inside the tent yesterday was Peter Sutherland, the chairman of BP, which subsequently announced that it will return to Libya more than three decades after Col Gaddafi, filled with revolutionary fervour, nationalised all the company's assets in the country.
Officials travelling with Mr Blair said the oil firm had signed a £450 million agreement, with the prospect of 17 wells being drilled. They added that if all this exploration reached its full potential the deal could be worth £13 billion.
Mr Blair sees Libya as one of the key foreign policy successes of his premiership. Hence Col Gaddafi was the first leader he met at the outset of this week's official tour of Africa, which will also take him to Sierra Leone and South Africa.
Downing Street officials refute suggestions that this a "farewell tour" motivated by Mr Blair's vanity. Instead, his official spokesman described it as a demonstration of the importance of "continued engagement" with Africa.
Mr Blair was greeted with great fanfare when he landed at Sirte airport yesterday. Beneath a large poster of Col Gaddafi, a guard of honour presented arms and a motley brass band struck up a merry cacophony bearing some resemblance to God Save The Queen.
Col Gaddafi, unshaven, unkempt and swathed in brown robes, smiled thinly as Mr Blair arrived in his tent. Afterwards, the Prime Minister described their talks as "positive and constructive".
Britain and Libya will co-operate more closely in the fight against terrorism and their rapprochement was good for both countries and the "wider region", he said.
The key moments in Libya's transformation came in December 2003, when Col Gaddafi handed over his entire inventory of weapons of mass destruction to British and American experts, and also revealed an illegal stockpile of chemical munitions and a covert nuclear weapons programme.
In addition, Libya disclosed details of its suppliers, which allowed Britain and America to prove that Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former head of Pakistan's nuclear programme, had been running a "nuclear supermarket" selling the key components for making atomic bombs to the highest bidders.
Prior to this, Libya had one by one removed other obstacles to better relations with the West. It agreed to pay compensation to the families of the 270 people who died when PanAm flight 173 was destroyed over Lockerbie in 1988. Two Libyan intelligence agents were handed over for trial and one was convicted of placing a bomb on board.
Also inside the tent yesterday was Peter Sutherland, the chairman of BP, which subsequently announced that it will return to Libya more than three decades after Col Gaddafi, filled with revolutionary fervour, nationalised all the company's assets in the country.
Officials travelling with Mr Blair said the oil firm had signed a £450 million agreement, with the prospect of 17 wells being drilled. They added that if all this exploration reached its full potential the deal could be worth £13 billion.
Mr Blair sees Libya as one of the key foreign policy successes of his premiership. Hence Col Gaddafi was the first leader he met at the outset of this week's official tour of Africa, which will also take him to Sierra Leone and South Africa.
Downing Street officials refute suggestions that this a "farewell tour" motivated by Mr Blair's vanity. Instead, his official spokesman described it as a demonstration of the importance of "continued engagement" with Africa.
http://politicalcriminals.blogspot.com/2010/09/billy-carters-wild-ride-from-billy-beer_20.html
Excerpt:
Lockerbie: after the conspiricies ... the cover up?
Share 
16 Aug 2009
On Friday, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the only person found responsible by a court for the destruction of Pam Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, will drop a second appeal against his conviction and be allowed to go home to Libya to die. Suffering from terminal prostate cancer, Megrahi is said to be only a few weeks from death. Over the next four pages, we look at the legal and moral issues which have put the Scottish government into the international spotlight; claims that the truth will now never be known; reaction to the decision in the UK, USA and Libya; and where it now leaves the families of the 270 victims of the atrocity
McAskill in the eye of the storm: By Tom Gordon and Paul Hutcheon
http://www.anorak.co.uk/272216/politicians/tony-blair-was-complicit-in-release-of-abdelbaset-ali-mohmed-al-megrahi.html
Excerpt:
http://www.anorak.co.uk/272216/politicians/tony-blair-was-complicit-in-release-of-abdelbaset-ali-mohmed-al-megrahi.html
Excerpt:
Wikileaks has released leaked US diplomatic cables which show the US Government was complicit since it knew of the talks and had been briefed.
Which was more than the Scottish Government and the Scots First Minister Alex Salmond today says Blair’s ministers were “playing false”
The Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill released the bomber 15 months ago after being told Megraghi had three months to live.
One memo, obtained by WikiLeaks and seen by The Glasgow Herald, refers to a 2008 letter sent to Tripoli outlining how to secure the compassionate release of prisoners held in Scottish jails.
The memo, marked as classified and written by Richard LeBaron, US diplomat and chargé d’affaires at the American embassy in London, discusses how Megrahi “could have as long as five years to live, although the average life expectancy of someone of his age with his condition is 18 months to two years”.
Former justice secretary Jack Straw has previously denied that pressure from Libya had played any part in the Megrahi decision.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
Excerpt:
Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655) was a civilian jet airliner shot down by U.S. missiles on 3 July 1988, over the Strait of Hormuz, toward the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft, an Airbus A300B2-203 operated by Iran Air, was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when it was destroyed by the U.S. Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, including 66 children,[1] ranking it seventh among the deadliest airliner fatalities.[2] It was the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Indian Ocean and the highest death toll of any incident involving an Airbus A300 anywhere in the world. Vincennes was traversing the Strait of Hormuz, inside Iranian territorial waters, and at the time of the attack IR655 was within Iranian airspace.[3]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207772/Blair-blood-money-Lockerbie-deal-Talks-Gaddafi-hours-BP-agreement.html
Excerpt:
Last updated at 9:41 AM on 20th August 2009
The then Prime Minister laid the foundations for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi during a meeting with the Libyan leader in a desert tent two years ago.
The pair thrashed out a controversial prisoner transfer deal just before BP chairman Peter Sutherland announced the firm was investing $900million - about £545million - to search for oil in Libya. If the firm strikes rich, it could be worth £13billion.
The Scottish Government confirmed that its justice secretary Kenny MacAskill would announce Megrahi's fate at 1pm today.
It is widely expected that the terminally-ill 57-year-old, the only person convicted of the December 1988 bombing, will be freed on compassionate grounds.
The Scottish Executive said in a statement: 'Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has informed families and other interested parties that he has reached his decisions on the applications for prisoner transfer and compassionate release in relation to Mr Megrahi and will announce his decisions on Thursday, August 20, 2009.
'This fulfils the Justice Secretary's pledge to inform families on both sides of the Atlantic, in advance, of the timing of his public announcement.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/docs/ir655-nightline-19920701.html#tk8
Excerpt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
Excerpt:
Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655) was a civilian jet airliner shot down by U.S. missiles on 3 July 1988, over the Strait of Hormuz, toward the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft, an Airbus A300B2-203 operated by Iran Air, was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when it was destroyed by the U.S. Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, including 66 children,[1] ranking it seventh among the deadliest airliner fatalities.[2] It was the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Indian Ocean and the highest death toll of any incident involving an Airbus A300 anywhere in the world. Vincennes was traversing the Strait of Hormuz, inside Iranian territorial waters, and at the time of the attack IR655 was within Iranian airspace.[3]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207772/Blair-blood-money-Lockerbie-deal-Talks-Gaddafi-hours-BP-agreement.html
Excerpt:
Blair, 'blood money' and a Lockerbie deal: Talks with Gaddafi hours before BP agreement
By Ian DruryLast updated at 9:41 AM on 20th August 2009
- Gaddafi 'to send private jet to pick up bomber' from Glasgow
- Obama calls on Megrahi to be made to 'serve out his term'
- Megrahi's wife says bomber is 'very happy' to come home
The then Prime Minister laid the foundations for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi during a meeting with the Libyan leader in a desert tent two years ago.
The pair thrashed out a controversial prisoner transfer deal just before BP chairman Peter Sutherland announced the firm was investing $900million - about £545million - to search for oil in Libya. If the firm strikes rich, it could be worth £13billion.
The Scottish Government confirmed that its justice secretary Kenny MacAskill would announce Megrahi's fate at 1pm today.
It is widely expected that the terminally-ill 57-year-old, the only person convicted of the December 1988 bombing, will be freed on compassionate grounds.
Dirty deals?: Lockerbie victims' families accuse Tony Blair of making a deal involving the Libyan bomber with Colonel Gaddafi two years ago
'This fulfils the Justice Secretary's pledge to inform families on both sides of the Atlantic, in advance, of the timing of his public announcement.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/docs/ir655-nightline-19920701.html#tk8
Excerpt:
Full-text: July 1 1992, Iran Air Flight 655 (July 3 1988, 290 victims)
The USS Vincennes: Public War, Secret War
July 1, 1992
• Bombing Iran
• Iran uranium timeline
• Blockade, reprisals
• Settlements
• War Crimes Act
• The Israel Lobby
• NIE: Iraq wmd
• Iran uranium timeline
• Blockade, reprisals
• Settlements
• War Crimes Act
• The Israel Lobby
• NIE: Iraq wmd
Ted Koppel (voice-over).
Four years ago this week—
A tragedy in the Persian Gulf.
The shooting down of an Iranian Airbus.
By the USS Vincennes.
The lives of 290 civilians lost.
And the inevitable question:
How could this have happened?
There was the “official” story.
