Nexus - 0402 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

— TARGET LIBYA — The making of a scapegoat TARGET The making scapegoat Berlin, and the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie were the three out - rageous 'terrorist' events that led to Libya being outcast by the international com - munity. These atrocities are now revealed as yet further examples of the ‘decade of ten - sion' inspired by the West. The dirty tricks, resulting in hundreds of deaths, were art - fully hatched in Washington and London under upmost secrecy. T? murder of WPC Fletcher in London, the bombing of La Belle Discothéque in Vested interests in US intelligence and LOCKERBIE WHISTLEBLOWER SILENCED? "It's an easy hit." The voice of Lester Coleman, former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) operative and joint author of the explosive book Trail of the Octopus,' echoed hol- politics used lowly down the line. Lester answered my question in a few simple words. I had asked him why the US continues blaming Libya's Colonel Qadhafi for all the woes of the world. extreme terror Since his enforced ‘exile’, Lester has become something of an expert on Libya. A "Listen, David," he continued. "It's all domestic politics." Libyan skulduggery plays to tactics to turn the "rednecks" who inhabit middle America. Lester, an accomplished linguist, launched H into a humorous backwoods drawl to emphasise his point. Most Americans believe any- world public thing they're told about "Ay-rabs", he said—particularly at politically sensitive times or opinion against during an election year. One reason, perhaps, why the US had threatened to use a nuclear weapon against Libya in the spring of 1996. I was told this latter piece of gossip by Sir Teddy Taylor, Conservative Member of Parliament. Sir Teddy had consented to an interview to provide background on the assas- sination of WPC Yvonne Fletcher and also on the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The MP had a special interest in both cases. Somehow I had missed . picking up the US nuclear threat on the news. When Sir Teddy mentioned it, my jaw But are their dropped with a jowl-shuddering 'clunk'. I later confirmed the story with American media . ee sources. In the event, it was just bluster. activities part of a iroved The year 1996 has proved to be a peculiarly good one for Libya. For the second time in much broader plan a decade, it got shunted into the political backwoods by presidential warlords. Instead, the mad ayatollahs of Iran took centre-stage as America's arch-demon in this election year.” Libya in the 1980s. But by all accounts it was touch-and-go whether Libya or Iran would be awarded the hon- for global our of the black boot this time around. destabilisation? Les Coleman is the first DIA operative to have gone public and blown the whistle. His book blew the lid on the Lockerbie story. Because of his inside knowledge he was inun- dated with death threats from the intelligence community, so he fled with his family to Europe for safety. Originally given temporary political asylum in Sweden, two years later he was forced to move on. Most recently he was residing in Spain. When I spoke to him, he was planning his return to the US after years of exile. Now penniless and unsettled, he spoke about his chances of arrest on an old charge of obtaining a passport in a false name—something he did under DIA instruction as a field operative. LOCKERBIE WHISTLEBLOWER SILENCED? "It's an easy hit." The voice of Lester Coleman, former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) operative and joint author of the explosive book Trail of the Octopus,' echoed hol- lowly down the line. Lester answered my question in a few simple words. I had asked him why the US continues blaming Libya's Colonel Qadhafi for all the woes of the world. Since his enforced ‘exile’, Lester has become something of an expert on Libya. "Listen, David," he continued. "It's all domestic politics." Libyan skulduggery plays to the "rednecks" who inhabit middle America. Lester, an accomplished linguist, launched into a humorous backwoods drawl to emphasise his point. Most Americans believe any- thing they're told about "Ay-rabs", he said—particularly at politically sensitive times or during an election year. One reason, perhaps, why the US had threatened to use a nuclear weapon against Libya in the spring of 1996. I was told this latter piece of gossip by Sir Teddy Taylor, Conservative Member of Parliament. Sir Teddy had consented to an interview to provide background on the assas- sination of WPC Yvonne Fletcher and also on the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The MP had a special interest in both cases. Somehow I had missed picking up the US nuclear threat on the news. When Sir Teddy mentioned it, my jaw dropped with a jowl-shuddering 'clunk'. I later confirmed the story with American media sources. In the event, it was just bluster. The year 1996 has proved to be a peculiarly good one for Libya. For the second time in a decade, it got shunted into the political backwoods by presidential warlords. Instead, the mad ayatollahs of Iran took centre-stage as America's arch-demon in this election year.’ But by all accounts it was touch-and-go whether Libya or Iran would be awarded the hon- our of the black boot this time around. Les Coleman is the first DIA operative to have gone public and blown the whistle. His book blew the lid on the Lockerbie story. Because of his inside knowledge he was inun- dated with death threats from the intelligence community, so he fled with his family to Europe for safety. Originally given temporary political asylum in Sweden, two years later he was forced to move on. Most recently he was residing in Spain. When I spoke to him, he was planning his return to the US after years of exile. Now penniless and unsettled, he spoke about his chances of arrest on an old charge of obtaining a passport in a false name—something he did under DIA instruction as a field operative. In any case, Les was hoping that the [then] forthcoming US presidential election might insulate him from prosecution, but he was going to return "home" no matter what. His family had understandably grown tired of their nomadic life and missed home. Unsurprisingly, word of his imminent return to the US had leaked out. A short while before finalising his flight plans, he was attacked by four men and beaten to a pulp. He arrived in the US in a wheelchair on 17 October 1996, and was arrested and placed in cus- tody on Federal charges. The US edition of Coleman's book, due to be published by Signet Books, has now been suppressed. US distributors for Signet say the publication date is "postponed", possibly in perpetuity. by David G. Guyatt ©1996 5 Mucking Hall Cottages Mucking Hall Road Barling Magna, Essex $S3 ONJ England, UK Phone/Fax: +44 (0)1702 217523 5 Mucking Hall Cottages Mucking Hall Road Barling Magna, Essex $S3 ONJ England, UK Phone/Fax: +44 (0)1702 217523 NEXUS - 33 by David G. Guyatt ©1996 FEBRUARY - MARCH 1997