The early release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison this summer sparked new scrutiny of Libya’s global economic clout. Megrahi was the only man convicted of the bombing of PanAm flight 103 in 1988 that killed some 270 people, mostly Americans. After it was discovered that Megrahi, who has always maintained his innocence, was terminally ill with prostate cancer earlier this year, the Scottish Justice Ministry officially released the prisoner on grounds of “conscience,” sparking international furor, as well as British and American calls for an inquiry into how the decision was reached. While the British government called Megrahi’s release an “independent step,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband seemed to contradict this claim in a Commons statement, where he highlighted Megrahi’s relevance to British-Libyan relations: “Although the decision [to release Megrahi early] was not one for the United Kingdom government, British interests — including
