Did Gadhafi Really Meet With Lockerbie Victims' Relatives?

With Moammar Gadhafi making his first United Nations General Assembly visit this week, he also took the time to meet with relatives of victims of the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Linda Gibson said of the 10-minute meeting, "He generally said he was sorry for the loss, but we didn't go into any details about the bombing."

Gadhafi's presence in the U.S. has upset many Lockerbie victims' families, especially after the Libyan convicted of the bombing which killed 270 (many of them Americans) was released from Scottish prison and given a hero's welcome in Libya. Gibson, whose brother was a U.S. Army specialist flying home from Berlin, also told the AP, "He was very friendly and cordial to us. Honestly, I think he was touched by us being there."

Gadhafi also mentioned the meeting—describing it as "friendly"—to CNN, saying, "I offered my condolences for the families who lost them. They also expressed their condolences for my daughter who was killed for the American raid in 1986." However, Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theodora was killed in the bombing, told the Daily News, "There is one woman who none of us ever heard of who apparently met with [Gadhafi]... He's making it sounds like he met with a number of families and that's just not true. He is a terrible liar." She said, "I have never encountered [Gibson] and I am not saying her motives aren't pure, but I know of no American families who were in favor of meeting with [Gadhafi]...I certainly would never meet with the man who sent somebody to murder my child."