Lockerbie bombing: Libya acknowledges responsibility?

According to the Washington Post* the Libyan government will accept responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and finally release the $2.7 billion promised to the victims of Flight 103. It would seem that sanctions have finally had their effect on the Libyan economy, and that the price to release Libya from these sanctions (and the US State Department terror list) is $10 million for each of the 270 families who lost members to the explosion (259 on the flight, and another 11 on the ground at Lockerbie).

It is unlikely that the Libyan leader, Colonel Muannar Kadhaffi, will take any responsibility for the terrorist act, and that the Libyan government will only accept responsibility for the person, as an employee of the Libyan government, and not the act itself.

The question is whether it is morally correct to allow a country to buy itself off the US State Department terror list and how much pressure has been applied by US oil companies desperate to profit from Libyan oil reserves.

If you have difficulty accessing the Washington Post article, take a look at the BBC News World Service report.

* Unlike the BBC News service, the Washington Post requires personal information from viewers before it allows access to its pages. You may not get directly to a WashingtonPost.com page if you have not already 'signed up' with the service.