Back when I was a medical resident in Pathology, our professors told us, "Most men die WITH prostate cancer, but statistically few die OF prostate cancer. It is a common cancer, but a less common cause of death."
It would appear that convicted terrorist Abdelbasset al-Megrahi isn't going to be among those unlucky few anytime in the foreseeable future:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/19/lockerbie-bomber-release-anniversary
Abdel-Fatah Yunis al-Obedi, minister of the interior, told the Guardian last month: "Megrahi is in the hands of God. He was in a Scottish prison. Those who made the three-month prognosis were British doctors. The fact that he is still alive is divine will and has nothing to do with Libya."
I notice, al-Obedi states rather emphatically that God was in a Scottish prison. The minister is on dangerous ground there, and should watch out for local Libyan law enforcers, who tend to be rather literal and unsympathetic folks, or so we are given to understand.
Unfortunately, the conviction of Mr Al Megrahi might not be as clear-cut as we would like. I won't bore you with the details, but here's the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelbaset_Ali_Mohmed_Al_Megrahi
Suffice to say that he had been preparing an appeal against his conviction which some experts/commentators think might have succeeded had he not withdrawn it on 14 August 2009 - 6 days before his release on 20 August 2009.
FWIW I don't think he should have been released on compassionate grounds. I think that he should have continued with his appeal and if he had died before it had been concluded, well that's just bad luck. As it is, it looks like a deal was struck for whatever reason, and I don't blame people in the USA for being annoyed about it.
If he had been released as the result of a successful appeal against conviction, then that's a result the Americans and everybody else would have had to live with. But at least it would have been as a result of the workings of judicial process, instead of some sort of stitch-up.
Much of world politics is about oil, and Libya has shedloads of it.
Well, if the Libyans feel it has nothing to do with Libya, I reckon it has nothing to do with America either. And everything to do with oil companies who hold the entire planet in their greasy palms.
I agree the release or otherwise should have been the result of the proper legal process. If laws are dispensed with when they are not convenient then why should anyone obey them?
If there was any doubt that he did it then far from wanting to hide that they should have been openly looking for the truth. If he didn't then someone else did.
I suspect this was (at least in part) about money and influence too. This will not be the first criminal released in this country because they had an incurable disease which strangely cleared up a week later.
The last one was about money too. The power to grant directorships (and other payments) to cooperating politicians will always lead to corruption.