Libya and the U.S. signed a compensation deal for American victims of Libyan attacks and U.S. reprisals, paving the way for full normalisation of ties between the two countries. The deal will see compensation paid for U.S. victims of Libyan attacks in the 1980s. In particular, the U.S. wants Libya to fully compensate families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, and a Berlin disco bombing that killed two Americans. In addition, under this agreement each country's citizens can receive fair compensation for past incidents since the U.S. bombed Libya in retaliation for terrorist attacks. The U.S. retaliated against Libya with several U.S. airstrikes on Tripoli and Benghazi on April 16, 1986, in which 41 people were killed, including an adopted daughter of Kadhafi. Since 2006 the U.S. normalised relations between the two countries by dropping Libya from a State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism and raising diplomatic relations to the level of ambassadors. Both houses of Congress passed a bill that grants Libya immunity from lawsuits once compensation has been paid through the fund.
My question here is what do the victims of Libyan terrorism have to say on the issue? I'm not finding any public comment by them. I wonder if they are being fully represented and if they are satisfied with compensation for their loved ones now that Congress has accepted the deal.
In addition, is there a slippery slope at work here? Will AQAM (al-Qaeda and Allied Movements) someday seek relief in American courts for compensation?
The compensation payments must be weighed against the relative benefit of having Libya return to the civilized community of nations as Libya sheds its past as a rogue state.
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