Gadhafi: Lockerbie Is Over, 'Legally, Politically, Financially'

Moammar Gadhafi tried to leaven his image a bit after his 90-minute UN diatribe by sitting down with the Wall Street Journal yesterday. The Libyan strongman assured reporter Jay Solomon he could "comprehend" the anger of Americans who lost friends and relatives in the Lockerbie bombing. He denied orchestrating a hero's welcome for the bomber and said the release was all through "proper channels," adding, "We all feel the pain for such a tragedy."

Gadhafi, who the Journal notes was sporting black boots and an ankle-length cape, said that by his calculations, the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison, combined with the billions his country paid to families in reparations, should provide a basis for a new beginning for the US and Libya. "I would say it's come to an end, legally, politically, financially, it is all over. I would say, thank Allah that this problem has been solved to the satisfaction of all parties." (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)