Washington 'just wants to get it over with'

THERE was little in the way of acknowledgement of the appeal judgment from Washington yesterday.

Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, urged Libya to abide by UN resolutions to pay compensation to families of the victims.

But it was tepid stuff compared to the forceful rhetoric President George W Bush has favoured in relation to Iran and Iraq since September 11, or the more aggressive stances taken by his father as president and Bill Clinton.

Until September 11, the bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie was the worst terrorist atrocity in American history. Now it has been eclipsed.

"The sheer scale of September 11 has, to a certain extent, overshadowed PanAm 103," said Dan Cohen, father of Theodara, a 20-year-old student who was returning to New York when the flight was blown up over Lockerbie.

"We are dealing with an administration that really wants to say: 'OK, let's close the book on this one'."

There is some political will, albeit outside of the Bush administration, to ensure that Colonel Gaddafi takes full responsibility.

Senator Ted Kennedy said yesterday the verdict represented a measure of justice, but Libya must unequivocally accept responsibility before sanctions could be lifted.

Despite his encouraging words, many American families remain sceptical. "The White House just wants to get it over with and go back to buying Libyan oil," said Mr Cohen. "But this isn't the end of the line by any means. The end of the line is when we're dead."

- March 15th