Scotland’s Release of Pan Am 103 Bomber Disappointing, U.S. Says

The 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 killed 270 people, including 189 Americans and 11 on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. © AP Images

The Obama administration says it is deeply disappointed by the decision of the Scottish Executive to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi, the only individual convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.  In an August 20 statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton remembered the 270 individuals who were killed in the attack, including 189 Americans. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live each day with the loss of their loved ones due to this heinous crime,” she said.  The secretary said she and other administration officials “have continued to communicate our long-standing position to U.K. government officials and Scottish authorities that Megrahi should serve out the entirety of his sentence in Scotland.”  In a separate statement, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said August 20 that the United States “deeply regrets” the decision to release Megrahi from prison, and he extended sympathies to the families of the victims. (more)

United States, Colombia Discuss Defense Cooperation

Secretary Clinton, right, and Colombian Foreign Minister Bermúdez at an August 18 press conference

The United States and Colombia have reached a tentative defense agreement that would allow U.S. military forces to use selected Colombian military bases in a continuing joint fight against terrorists and drug dealers.  “These threats are real, and the United States is committed to supporting the government of Colombia in its efforts to provide security for all of its citizens,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at an August 18 press briefing. “The agreement does not create U.S. bases in Colombia. The United States does not have and does not seek bases inside Colombia.”  It would allow U.S. military personnel and American contractors access to some Colombian bases, but command, administration and security will be Colombia’s responsibility. Any U.S. activity will have to be agreed upon in advance, she said.  The level of U.S. military personnel in Colombia will not change and is limited by federal law, Clinton said. In October 2004, Congress authorized the permanent or temporary assignment of up to 800 U.S. military personnel and up to 600 U.S. civilian contractors in Colombia. In recent years, the actual number of U.S. personnel has averaged half or less of the authorized number, the State Department said in a fact sheet on the U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement.” (more)

Clinton’s Message on Gender-Based Violence Resonates Worldwide

A man in Guatemala lights one of many candles commemorating International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in 2008.

Speaking out against gender-based violence was among the top priorities for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during her recent visit to seven countries in Africa, but it is a topic the United States takes seriously worldwide.  In Africa, however, violence against women is especially serious, and nowhere is it more horrific than in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where fighting between factions has subjected women to unprecedented savagery — some 1,100 rapes are reported each month.  During an interview with Radio Okapi in Kinshasa August 10, Clinton condemned sexual violence in any context — as a tool of war or in a domestic setting. “There has to be strong prosecution and law enforcement and judiciary action to make it clear that this is unacceptable, that there is no excuse for it,” she said. Clinton also announced that the United States will provide $17 million to help survivors of sexual violence in the DRC.  The U.S. government, for more than three decades, increasingly has recognized violence against women as a human rights problem with far-reaching consequences. But a report released in 2008 by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) — the public policy research arm of the U.S. Congress — found that there was no U.S. governmentwide coordination of efforts to combat violence against women. (more)