UK/USA relations

My last rant today... apologies but this stuff needed to come out.

The release of Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was probably a mistake - that mistake being that his release was based on the expectation that the poor man had only 3 months to live. He has survived now nearly a year more. Had he died in a week of release then I doubt we'd even remember the event. Was it a mistake to release him on compassionate grounds - I feel not. I always feel it is important that society rises above the retaliation "eye for an eye" kind of retribution those directly affected by something like this understandably feel. As a whole society should to my mind always be above the acts of those that they then show compassion to. This is why I can never agree with a death penalty for anything. Hold people in prison for their entire life if necessary but never sink to the depravity we supposedly are punishing them for in the first place. In this case though I personally think he should have died in gaol given the severity of his crimes.

However whatever the rights or wrongs on his release I really do object to some US senators demanding they hold an investigation this. Hang on this is a UK - well specifically a Scottish issue. How would the USA feel if we started debating that the Chilcott inquiry have its scope increased to determine what weapons were used in the battle of Fallujah? It's the tone I object to as though we are subservient to the USA senate - er sorry no we are a separate sovereign state - I'm happy for a legitimate complaint/issue to be raised with us and we'll decide what needs or doesn't need to be done but the tone to demand investigations is just wrong. Also I don't see our new government politely pointing out that we hear the concerns but that we should deal with it internally thank you.

This isn't helped by our new PM saying we are the "junior partner" to the USA - including according to him in 1940 when "we were fighting the Nazis". Erm - slight historical note here, we were at war with Germany from early September 1939 when we objected to the invasion of Poland. The USA did not join the war until after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour which if my history is correct wasn't until December 1941 and the USA only came into the war in Europe then since Germany declared war on them in support of Japan following the USA declaration of war with them.

So how were we the junior partner when the USA weren't even in the war? Great. To quote a line I always remember from the musical Time from the hologram narrator character Akash that Sir Laurence Olivier played... "they don't inspire confidence do they?"... indeed not at the moment