July 2, 2007 -- Who really bombed Pan Am Flight 103 out of the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland, back in 1988 - killing 270 people, including 179 Americans?
From the outset, Washington zeroed in on Libya's Moammar Khadafy, who had been the prime focus of President Ronald Reagan's anti-terrorism efforts.
Abdel Basser Ali al-Meghrabi, a Libyan intelligence officer, was found guilty of involvement by a special Scottish court in 2001 and sentenced to 27 years; he's the only person ever convicted in connection with the attack.
As for Khadafy, he long denied Libyan involvement in the crime. But after years of U.S.-sponsored economic and political sanctions, he agreed to accept civil - though not criminal - responsibility, pay damages to the victims' families and end all involvement with terrorism.
But now the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, after a four-year investigation, has concluded that "a miscarriage of justice may have occurred" - and that Meghrabi, who has always maintained his innocence, is entitled to appeal his conviction.
The judicial commission found not only errors in procedure but also new evidence that flatly contradicted some of the testimony given at the trial. The ruling doesn't exonerate Meghrabi - but does allow him to argue his case.
Indeed, the ruling raises all kinds of significant implications.
If Meghrabi ultimately is acquitted, will the families have to return the money paid them by Khadafy? Will Khadafy himself take back his renunciation of terrorism and WMDs?
More importantly, if Libya's hands are clean - or not as dirty as supposed - then who did destroy Pan Am 103?
Over the years, suspicion in some quarters of the intelligence community has centered on an Iranian-backed faction of Palestinian terrorists.
The Post's late Middle East correspondent, Uri Dan, reported early on that Syrian-based Ahmed Jibril (the first Palestinian terrorist leader to embrace Iran) had masterminded the attack, in which Libyan agents played only a minor role.
If true, that will further complicate already tense U.S.-Iranian relations.
Again, Meghrabi must now make his case in another court. And there's no guarantee that he'll win. But the Scottish commission's findings, reached after an exhaustive review, raise troubling questions about the investigation into this horrid crime.
Whatever the political fallout, however, all those touched by the bombing of Pan Am 103 are owed a clear picture of what really happened - and of who should be held responsible.
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