Because of that, I am not foolish enough to condemn an entire population because of the actions of their government officials. If everyone in the world held our own government against us, no one ever would visit our shores. However, it will be a long time before I visit Scotland again.
The reason: One of the worst mass-murder terrorists on record has been freed despite being sentenced to life in prison for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the commercial airliner that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, butchering 270 innocent souls, many of them Americans.
And why was Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, 57, set free? For what Scottish officials termed "humanitarian reasons."
The former Libyan intelligence operative has prostate cancer. By contrast, 259 Pan Am passengers and 11 people on the ground where the wreckage hit them still are dead.
In a typical and sickening outpouring of adulation too often seen for an Arab who has slain non-Arabs, a crowd of thousands turned out to greet al-Megrahi when he landed in Tripoli, the capital of his homeland. They danced, sang and chanted. Some wore T-shirts with his face printed on them. Some waved posters bearing his image.
After all, he murdered "infidels" and only had to serve 10 or 11 days per victim. What a hero.
