The release of the Lockerbie bomber al Megrahi has become a story few follow any more. There are too many upsetting events these days, coming with ever-accelerating speed, to focus on any one for long—especially if it involves a single elderly man reported to have prostate cancer.

But here’s some background on al Megrahi to refresh your memory. And in this post, I noted that al Megrahi seems to have outlived the three months forecast that caused Scottish authorities to release him on compassionate grounds in the first place.

And now we learn—quelle surprise!—that al Megrahi’s gone missing. He’s not in the hospital, nor is he at home, and when the Scottish authorities call to see why he’s been so remiss in his required correspondence with them, al Megrahi’s nowhere to be found:

Libyan officials could say nothing about the whereabouts of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, and his Scottish monitors could not contact him by telephone. They will try again to speak to him today but if they fail to reach him, the Scottish government could face a new crisis.

Under the terms of his release from jail, the bomber cannot change his address or leave Tripoli, and must keep in regular communication with East Renfrewshire Council.

If I were asked to offer one piece of evidence for the precipitous decline of common sense in the Western world, and our culture’s resultant inability to effectively combat the threats arrayed against it (at times even seeming to conspire in our own demise), I would be hard-pressed to find a better example than the idiocy of the members of the Scottish government who approved the travesty of al Megrahi’s original release, as well as the cluelessness of the East Renfrewshire Council.

What possible leverage did they think they would have with al Megrahi once he once safe in Tripoli? They are now reduced to the level of the whining elderly mother who complains, “you never call, you never write.”

Yes, of course it’s possible that al Megrahi will turn up soon. And it’s even possible his disappearance is due to the fact that his health has declined. But that appears unlikely; wouldn’t that fact be highly publicized? In the past, his visits to the hospital were covered by the press, and the hospital itself now claims to know nothing of his whereabouts. The Times even did a bit of investigative reporting to find out what’s going on, and this was the result:

One of three security officers sitting in a grey Mercedes car outside [al Megrahi's house] said: “They’ve all gone.” He refused to elaborate.

Not everyone in Scotland has lost his/her mind, however:

Richard Baker, Labour’s justice spokesman in the Scottish Parliament, said the whole affair was turning into a shambles and putting Scotland’s reputation at risk. “This flags up just how ludicrous it is that East Renfrewshire Council, a local council thousands of miles away from Libya, is responsible for supervising al-Megrahi’s conditions of licence,” he said.

Ludicrous, yes. If I were a terrorist, I’d be laughing myself silly at the antics of the Western world right about now.

And if I were KSM, I’d not only be getting a good lawyer, I’d be getting myself a sympathetic doctor.

[ADDENDUM: Honey, I'm home!]