Lockerbie and Libya: A Study in International Relations FROM THE PUBLISHER
The bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the politics that surround this early anti-U.S. terrorist act provide a fascinating case study in international relations. The event severely impacted Libya's relationship with the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations.
This work examines all facets of the Lockerbie tragedy including the police investigation and indictment of two Libyan citizens, the imposition of international sanctions against Libya, that country's response and the years of tension and conflict that followed, the role of political mediation (most notably by Prince Bandar bin Sultan and President Nelson Mandela), the trial in the Netherlands, Muammar Qaddafi and Libya's increasing maturity in dealing with complex international situations, and the flight 103 bombing's significance within the context of the events of September 11, 2001.
About the Author:
Khalil I. Matar is a journalist who has reported on the United Nations for 20 years and has been covering the Libyan case with the United States and the UN since the early 1980s. Attorney Robert W. Thabit was appointed by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, as an International Observer to the Lockerbie Trial.
SYNOPSIS
The bombing of Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland was blamed by the United States on Libyan citizens, who, it was demanded, should be turned over for trial. Such a result took ten years to come to fruition, but it eventual occurrence marked a growing "maturity" on the part of Libya, according to journalist Matar and his collaborator Thabit (appointed by Kofi Annan as the United Nation's International Observer to the Lockerbie Trial). They explore the long years of diplomatic and political maneuvering by the United States, the United Kingdom, Libya, and international bodies such as the UN, which not only led to the extradition of the two men to Scotland for trial, but eventually to the lifting of international sanctions against the poor African state. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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