Franklin Lamb: Is Kuwait trying to scapegoat the Palestinians? r

Beirut, The Imam Musa Sadr, Sheik Mohammad Yaacoub, and journalist Abbas Badreddine case, like the Tell Tale Heart in Edgar Allen's Poe novel, will not stop crying out for justice, despite more than three decades of political efforts to close the file. Recent visits to Egypt and Libya, as well as common knowledge here in Lebanon, make plain that there is much interest in finally solving this mystery. But while the fall of the Gadaffi regime initially led to much speculation, that the Sadr Yaacoub case would finally be solved by new factor's, including Egyptian Libya Lebanese economics and political relations, among other factors, are including Egyptian Libya Lebanese economics and political relations, among other factors, are slowing the investigation. Against this backdrop, comes the most recent speculation about the Lebanese trio's fate, this time from Kuweit's Al Rai newspaper. Without revealing its claimed source for the sensational story, which has been denied by former Gaddafi operatives in both Cairo and Tripoli, including investigators at the Libyan Justice and Interior ministries, Al Rai weaves a most improbable story, that Sunni Palestinians murdered the Shia delegation. At first glance, the tale does lead one to at least take notice, because for years, Libyan intelligence was closely involved with Abu Nidal, and funded his Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). Following the US bombing of Gadaffi's residence on April 15, 1986, when US warplanes launched a series of bombing raids from British bases against Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 45 Libyan soldiers and 15 civilians, in claiming retaliation for the bombing, ten years earlier, of a Berlin nightclub, used by US service personnel, that relationship solidified fast, with Abu Nidal becoming the recently appointed head of Libyan intelligence, Abdullah Senussi's favorite mercenary. In June of 1986, this observers visited Abu Nidal's office, which was being set up in an apartment building, four blocks from Green Square. The visit was arranged by former Libyan Ambassador Omar el Hamdi, now laying low in Cairo. Omar served as Secretary General of the Sennusi created "International Secretariat For Solidarity With The Arab People And Their Central Cause Palestine, on which this observer served five years as North American Representative, while working at the US Congress.