Ambrosia
Good of the Fods
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2009
- Messages
- 2,675
I'd like to have posted in an easy to find topic a timeline of events surrounding the Lockerbie disaster.
Here is my first effort, please feel free to add more detail.
March 10th 1984 – A bomb blows up UTA772, a DC-8, on the ground at Brazzaville airport. The perpetrators are never identified.
15th April 1986 – US AF makes bombing raids into Libya in attacks targeting Gadaffi, killing his adopted daughter. The brains behind this operation were Oliver North and Vince Cannistraro. VC was commissioned by Reagan in 1986 to "destabilize libya" VC was later to be a lead investigator into Lockerbie for the CIA. US covert plans to destabilise Libya do not end until Dec 1990.
1987 – Under political pressure Syria kicks the PFLP-GC out and this terrorist cell led by Ahmed Jibril relocates to Libya until 1989.
3rd July 1988 – USS Vincennes shoots down IR655 an Airbus A300 on a routine short flight. The US never admits responsibility, or apologises. Iran is incensed, sees the shootdown as intentional and vows bloody revenge. Iran also cites other cases such as El AL 402, Libyan Arab Air 114, Korean Air 007 and Iraqs attack on the USS Stark to point out that US policy is extremely hypocritical.
2nd August 1988 – at a campaign function VP George Bush commenting on the Vincennes shootdown states “I’ll never apologize for the United States. I don’t care what the facts are” printed by Newsweek in their quotes section soon afterward, this statement further enrages Iran.
26th October 1988[pg 68] – German Police arrest Khreesat and other PFLP-GC terror cell members as part of “Operation Autumn Leaves”. They find 1 bomb hidden in a Toshiba bombeat radio. Urgent warnings about bombs concealed in Toshiba radios are circulated.
8th December 1988 – Israeli special forces, in “Operation Blue and Brown” raid a PFLP-GC base in Libya attempting to assassinate Jibril. This date is the first anniversary of the “Intifada” a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, a significant and symbolic attack.
20th December 1988 – Mjr Charles McKee, DIA Agent, telephones his mother out of the blue telling her he will be home tomorrow. According to his mother this was unprecedented and she was terrified by this phonecall.
21st December 1988 – Pan Am 103 is blown out of the sky by a bomb in the cargo hold, wreckage falls on the Scottish Town of Lockerbie, killing residents as well as all passengers and crew.
11th January 1989 - Telephone conversation between Thatcher and Bush, agreeing to take a "low-key" approach re Lockerbie, for reasons of national security.
13th January 1989 [pg 16] - Alleged discovery of the piece of charred shirt with fragments of Toshiba and MST-13 by DC Gilchrist. At later inspections, the label of this evidence bag is seen to have been altered by persons unknown.
Mid-March 1989. [source - "Flight From Justice - Paul Foot" (£5 paywall)] Investigation proceeds apace, though with a lot of CIA presence shadowing the police and allegedly interfering with evidence. Includes discovery of Toshiba and suitcase fragments. Connection made to Jibril and the PFLP-GC. Great anticipation of imminent arrests communicated to media on 16th March.
13th April 1989 [pg 43] - BKA find 2 of Khreesats bombs in a grocery store, one of which explodes killing a technician. This incident angers the German Police and after this time they share much more information gained from the Autumn Leaves raid prior to 103’s bombing.
12th May 1989 [pg 17] - Thomas Hayes allegedly discovers the timer fragment while doing detailed examination of material collected from the crash site. However, the loose-leaf page on which he records this appears to be a later interpolation into the notes. Hayes and Feraday consistently maintain that the fragment they dealt with was green.
22nd June 1989 - Date of Lumpert's confessed passing of a brown non-functional MST-13 prototype to someone involved in the Lockerbie investigation.
July 1989 [source - "Flight From Justice - Paul Foot" (£5 paywall)] - Parkinson's promise to the relatives of a public inquiry is vetoed by Thatcher; he later attributes this to a need to protect security sources. No further government enouragement of speculation or enquiry, however press reports that the PFLP-GC have been identified as the perpetrators continue.
15th September 1989 - Alan Feraday apparently notices that there's something interesting in the material logged as having been examined by Hayes in May, and decides to draw it to Williamson's attention. However, there is no photograph or drawing of the fragment, and he has to take a hurried Polaroid shot to send to him.
19th September 1989 - Flight UTA772 is blown out of the sky by a suitcase bomb over the Tenere Desert, Niger, ~47 minutes after takeoff. The Bruguiere report into the attack, published in 1997 blames Libya. This conclusion is criticised .
January 1990 – as part of his investigation for Pan Am, Juval Aviv interviews baggage handlers in Frankfurt whilst administering polygraphs. They fail. Pan Am sends Kilin Caslan Tuzcu and Roland O'Neill on a bogus errand to London, tipping off police as to their arrival, expecting them to be picked up by police in the UK for questioning regarding the case. Nothing happens, they return to Frankfurt the same night.
Spring 1990 - Increasing tensions in Middle East foreshadow the 1990 Gulf War.
April 1990 – The US awards medals to some of the crew of the Vincennes.
15th June 1990 - Thomas Thurman identifies a photograph of the fragment as a part of an MST-13 timer, similar to one which had been recovered from a Libyan agent in the Middle East. Manufacturer still not known, but subsequently identified as MeBo of Switzerland.
July 1990 - Iraqi troops massing on border with Kuwait.
2nd August 1990 - Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait.
December 1990[pp 75] - Visit(s) of Scottish and US law enforcement officials to MeBo. There is disagreement regarding who visited and when.
January 1991 - Operation Desert Storm.
14th November 1991 – Charges are announced against Megrahi and Fhimah.
Here is my first effort, please feel free to add more detail.
March 10th 1984 – A bomb blows up UTA772, a DC-8, on the ground at Brazzaville airport. The perpetrators are never identified.
15th April 1986 – US AF makes bombing raids into Libya in attacks targeting Gadaffi, killing his adopted daughter. The brains behind this operation were Oliver North and Vince Cannistraro. VC was commissioned by Reagan in 1986 to "destabilize libya" VC was later to be a lead investigator into Lockerbie for the CIA. US covert plans to destabilise Libya do not end until Dec 1990.
1987 – Under political pressure Syria kicks the PFLP-GC out and this terrorist cell led by Ahmed Jibril relocates to Libya until 1989.
3rd July 1988 – USS Vincennes shoots down IR655 an Airbus A300 on a routine short flight. The US never admits responsibility, or apologises. Iran is incensed, sees the shootdown as intentional and vows bloody revenge. Iran also cites other cases such as El AL 402, Libyan Arab Air 114, Korean Air 007 and Iraqs attack on the USS Stark to point out that US policy is extremely hypocritical.
2nd August 1988 – at a campaign function VP George Bush commenting on the Vincennes shootdown states “I’ll never apologize for the United States. I don’t care what the facts are” printed by Newsweek in their quotes section soon afterward, this statement further enrages Iran.
26th October 1988[pg 68] – German Police arrest Khreesat and other PFLP-GC terror cell members as part of “Operation Autumn Leaves”. They find 1 bomb hidden in a Toshiba bombeat radio. Urgent warnings about bombs concealed in Toshiba radios are circulated.
8th December 1988 – Israeli special forces, in “Operation Blue and Brown” raid a PFLP-GC base in Libya attempting to assassinate Jibril. This date is the first anniversary of the “Intifada” a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, a significant and symbolic attack.
20th December 1988 – Mjr Charles McKee, DIA Agent, telephones his mother out of the blue telling her he will be home tomorrow. According to his mother this was unprecedented and she was terrified by this phonecall.
21st December 1988 – Pan Am 103 is blown out of the sky by a bomb in the cargo hold, wreckage falls on the Scottish Town of Lockerbie, killing residents as well as all passengers and crew.
11th January 1989 - Telephone conversation between Thatcher and Bush, agreeing to take a "low-key" approach re Lockerbie, for reasons of national security.
13th January 1989 [pg 16] - Alleged discovery of the piece of charred shirt with fragments of Toshiba and MST-13 by DC Gilchrist. At later inspections, the label of this evidence bag is seen to have been altered by persons unknown.
Mid-March 1989. [source - "Flight From Justice - Paul Foot" (£5 paywall)] Investigation proceeds apace, though with a lot of CIA presence shadowing the police and allegedly interfering with evidence. Includes discovery of Toshiba and suitcase fragments. Connection made to Jibril and the PFLP-GC. Great anticipation of imminent arrests communicated to media on 16th March.
13th April 1989 [pg 43] - BKA find 2 of Khreesats bombs in a grocery store, one of which explodes killing a technician. This incident angers the German Police and after this time they share much more information gained from the Autumn Leaves raid prior to 103’s bombing.
12th May 1989 [pg 17] - Thomas Hayes allegedly discovers the timer fragment while doing detailed examination of material collected from the crash site. However, the loose-leaf page on which he records this appears to be a later interpolation into the notes. Hayes and Feraday consistently maintain that the fragment they dealt with was green.
22nd June 1989 - Date of Lumpert's confessed passing of a brown non-functional MST-13 prototype to someone involved in the Lockerbie investigation.
July 1989 [source - "Flight From Justice - Paul Foot" (£5 paywall)] - Parkinson's promise to the relatives of a public inquiry is vetoed by Thatcher; he later attributes this to a need to protect security sources. No further government enouragement of speculation or enquiry, however press reports that the PFLP-GC have been identified as the perpetrators continue.
15th September 1989 - Alan Feraday apparently notices that there's something interesting in the material logged as having been examined by Hayes in May, and decides to draw it to Williamson's attention. However, there is no photograph or drawing of the fragment, and he has to take a hurried Polaroid shot to send to him.
19th September 1989 - Flight UTA772 is blown out of the sky by a suitcase bomb over the Tenere Desert, Niger, ~47 minutes after takeoff. The Bruguiere report into the attack, published in 1997 blames Libya. This conclusion is criticised .
January 1990 – as part of his investigation for Pan Am, Juval Aviv interviews baggage handlers in Frankfurt whilst administering polygraphs. They fail. Pan Am sends Kilin Caslan Tuzcu and Roland O'Neill on a bogus errand to London, tipping off police as to their arrival, expecting them to be picked up by police in the UK for questioning regarding the case. Nothing happens, they return to Frankfurt the same night.
Spring 1990 - Increasing tensions in Middle East foreshadow the 1990 Gulf War.
April 1990 – The US awards medals to some of the crew of the Vincennes.
15th June 1990 - Thomas Thurman identifies a photograph of the fragment as a part of an MST-13 timer, similar to one which had been recovered from a Libyan agent in the Middle East. Manufacturer still not known, but subsequently identified as MeBo of Switzerland.
July 1990 - Iraqi troops massing on border with Kuwait.
2nd August 1990 - Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait.
December 1990[pp 75] - Visit(s) of Scottish and US law enforcement officials to MeBo. There is disagreement regarding who visited and when.
January 1991 - Operation Desert Storm.
14th November 1991 – Charges are announced against Megrahi and Fhimah.
But when talking to non-initiates, clearly one needs to be more careful.