[This is the heading over a letter by Robin MacCormick in today's edition of The Scotsman. It reads as follows:]
Now that the US mid-term elections have passed, will we hear any more from the electioneering politicians who alleged a link between the release of the "Lockerbie bomber" and the BP oil rig disaster?
And will those UK politicians who tagged along on their coat-tails in order to disparage the Scottish Government make sure this glorious episode is recorded in their memoirs?
1) The US Senator who chaired the hearing, Senator Menendez, was not up for re-election in the midterm 2010 election. Nor was Senator Lautenberg (NJ). Senators Schumer and Gillibrand of NY were up for reelection but led by very safe majorities in a state that was not going to elect the opposition party. It is therefor not reasonable to claim that this was electioneering.
ReplyDelete2) No US Senators (or officials, as far as I know) have put forward the argument that the release of al-Megrahi was in any way linked to the BP oil rig disaster.
In light of those two facts, I am not sure what this letter really boils down to. Perhaps you can clarify, Mr. Black?
You would have to ask the author. Possibly he's not as familiar as you are with the niceties of US politics.
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