Perfidious and Greedy Albion

Trade and national enrichment has always motivated Great Britain. At one time she employed her own pirates upon the high seas in pursuit of her entitlements, arrogantly encroached upon by France and Spain and Portugal. Imperial Britain spread herself widely in search of commerce and the greedy pursuit of other countries' natural resources. As a great seafaring nation, she had her outposts around the world.

The British Dominion over parts of Africa, New Zealand, Australia, India, Canada, Pakistan, Cyprus, Antigua, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Malta, Malaysia, Jamaica and Grenada, to name a relative few, speaks to the huge impact England's aspirations had over the trade and politics of the world. The Commonwealth Nations, once former colonies of Britain, are comprised of no fewer than 53 countries, across all six continents, with a combined population of 2.1 billion people, almost a third of the world's population.

Britain has never lost its zeal for embracing trade opportunities, and now, at a time when fossil fuels are in such high demand for energy needs, she remains engaged in investing in her future. It was Britain and France which both originally invested in Middle East oil resources in the 19th Century, and the need for energy sources remains paramount. So much so, that the government of Britain surreptitiously engages in deals with corrupt and dangerous states.

Little wonder then, that despite the reputation that Libya has gained over the past 40 years under its leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi as a recruiter and funder of terrorism around the world, Britain still stands ready to sign off on investment and trade with the country. After first white-washing Libya of past criminal indiscretions that cost the lives of hundreds of Americans and Britons, insisting that this is a new era in international relations.

Unsurprisingly, the families of the victims of Libyan-funded IRA terrorists, and those whose relatives were killed in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing are aghast at the complicity of the British government with Libya, forgivingly permitting the sole convicted planner of that airline attack to be returned to his home country, and declining to officially represent the bereaved Irish families in their compensation lawsuit against Libya.

Fittingly enough, Col. Gaddafi's son, who warmly officiated at the welcome-home of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, characterizes opposition within the United States and Britain to the ongoing accommodation of Libya by Britain, as representative of "disgusting behaviour". He judges those who judge the Britain-Libya connection: "They are trying to use this human tragedy ... for their own political agenda. It is completely immoral."

Irony abounds.