The FBI phoned a Scots police force in the middle of the night and demanded Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's address after he freed the Lockerbie bomber.
The Lothian and Borders force was told at 2am an official from the US embassy wanted to deliver a letter from FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Mr Mueller was so furious at the decision to release the bomber he wanted the letter hand-delivered. He had ordered an official from London to travel to Edinburgh, hand over the letter and wait while Mr MacAskill gave a response.
Lothian and Borders police refused to give out the details but contacted officials at the Justice Secretary's private office. They informed the FBI there were set procedures in such cases and delivering a message to Mr MacAskill at his home in the middle of the night was out of the question.
The FBI chief's actions have sparked political fury at Holyrood. They were told they couldn't phone up and demand the home address of a cabinet minister of another country. Also they were informed that the letter could be handed to the night doorman at St Andrew's House, the HQ of the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, and it would be passed to Mr MacAskill in the morning.
In the event, Mr Mueller's angry letter was emailed to Mr MacAskill's office next day.
Christine Grahame, SNP MSP, sums up my opinion about Mr Mueller:
The last few weeks have clearly been a wake-up call for certain establishment figures in the US, including Texan Mr Mueller, who are clearly used to throwing their diplomatic weight around on the international stage, she said.
That might work in Texas but it won't cut much ice in West Lothian.
It will fuel doubts over the FBI's competency if it has to phone a poor duty sergeant at Lothian and Borders Police in the early hours to secure the address of Scotland's Justice Secretary.
Trevor Royle writes about the US/UK's 'special relationship' in today's Sunday Herald.
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19 comments:
Subrosa
Looks like the FBI doesn't do intelligence either.
Time to end this one sided "special relationship"
subrosa,
You could not expect an organisation like the FBI, who thought that Megrahi had been tried by a jury and that MacAskill was the prosecutor, to be aware that Scotland is in a different time-zone.
I think the 'special relationship' is a fallacy Dubbie. We're mugs falling for it.
Of course not brownlie, I forgot how most are employed for their levels of ignorance rather than intelligence.
God save us from those whose duty it is to just that.
Mr Mueller sounds as though he os not the smartest sandwich in the train.
Awe shite, that's me barred from the US of A.
Didn't stop me before getting in without a IW 90.
to do just that, sorry
and he is not the etc
TINFOIL HELMET ON
THE DEATH STAR IS BEAING OUT THOSE RAYS, AGAIN, ZZZZTTT.
The special relationship is, I'm informed by an American mate, one in which they tell the UK what to do and the UK does it. There is no reciprication.
We have to remember that this is the "intelligence" agency that bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (I think), because it was listed in an out of date street map as the head of the Secret Police. What on earth would they know about time zones?
I bet they would be prepared to wake their Secretary for Justice in Washington if the head of Lothian and Borders police wanted to get hold of him. Yeah right.
It's high time they were treated the way that we treated them! Well done us!
arrogant sh*ts is all I have to say.
SR,
The FBI Director - I tried to get his e-mail from a buddy of mine who is connected - he declined because he knew what I was going to send and understood how fucking pissed off I was with the US interfering in my country - it's bad enough with Westminster.
We do have arrangements where we share Int with the US. I asked a US Army Int expert in 2005 about the Chinese Embassy bombing - he told me in no uncertain terms that the missile had hit it's target. The reason you or I can gauge quite easily - sad times.
We must ensure than when we cut free and head in our direction for our interests as a Nation that we do not kow tow to the Elmers across the pond, the current relationship is incestuous and it is going to end in tears, I for one will not be crying.
The CIA and FBI are at best incompetent. Hoons.
Crazy D
The US is going to have to face the opinion of their very own General McChrystal who appears to be somewhat concerned about the current integrity and achievability of US military ambition in Afghanistan.Mr Mueller's factually incorrect and grammatically challenged letter-writing skills may therefore be put to a further test.
It has been suggested by Jonathan Mitchell QC (see his excellent blog) that the letter contains so many inaccuracies that he questions whether it could have possibly been written by a lawyer in the first place.
Interestingly, there doesn't appear to be any follow-up from the US over Mr Mueller's outburst perhaps now realising their self-congratulatory prowess on bombing civilian planes etc. precedes them. With a notable record (Afghan wedding parties a speciality)- of bombing most things that move (my father on POW liberation was warned by his German guards to remain in camp until the US bombers had gone), the US is not innocent itself.
Did Mr Brown consult any of the IRA bombing victims or families when he brushed aside compensation from Libya in preference to trading agreements and a cuddle with Gadaffi?
Little wonder that the ratings for Mr MacAskill and the SNP are justifiably increasing - but this ought to be tempered in that the comparison with such duplicitous UK and US covert political and commercial machinations would make even a dog's breakfast look appetising.
We must continue to ca'canny despite the daily spectacle of Labour and the Tories making eye-watering false accusations over the legal and medical release of Mr al-Megrahi.
FBI poaching on State Department territory - I'm sure this was all down to an amygdala moment for Mueller. As for the Special Relationship - I saw a documentary some years ago where a UK journalist asked senators their opinion of said - response - never heard of it.
I'm not sorry I sold my Harley.
Bl, would you really want to be in a country where they treated your fellow citizens as cannon fodder? I wouldn't.
Tris, there hasn't been any 'relationship' since WW11. Then of course the US charged us exorbitant interest rates on the loan they gave us to rebuild the UK and that was only paid off last year.
Relationship? Not in my lifetime.
But they 'rule the world' though FL, surely we should forgive such utter ignorance. As if.
The current relationship is killing our soldiers CD and it's not pleasant.
No other NATO country is losing as many as us and none has troops in the front line. What the hell is Gordon Brown playing at.
Ah I did read Mr Mitchell's blog Clarinda. The US are certainly no innocents in the 'friendly fire' statistics of war.
Of course Brown never consulted any IRA victims - surely you're being cynical. The man is a coward, he writes about courage but he doesn't understand the meaning.
Someone said we should sympathise because he's lost a child and has another child with an illness.
That doesn't take courage to face up to that, it takes internal strength and putting your child ahead of your own feelings.
Courage is when there is a choice. The choice from a selection of actions.
Yes we must caw canny. Time will give the truer picture of the Megrahi affair, although I doubt if the whole picture will ever come to light.
I've never heard of any American speak of a special relationship either scunnert - except a couple of presidents.
Auch Kbw, don't you miss it?
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