By
Cat Viglienzoni - July 21, 2010
British Prime Minister David Cameron's first visit to the
White House was overshadowed by anger at oil giant British Petroleum. Cameron
came to the United States hoping to focus on Afghanistan, peace in the Middle
East and the global economy, but everyone else wanted to talk about BP.
Cameron acknowledged the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico and
the fury many Americans feel about the incident.
"I completely understand the anger that exists right
across America," he said. "The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a catastrophe
- for the environment, for the fishing industry, for tourism. I've been
absolutely clear about that."
However, despite admitting the spill is a disaster, Cameron
was defensive of the British oil company, saying beating up BP is not the answer.
"BP is an important company to both the British and the American
economies. Thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic depend on it," he
said. "So it's in the interest of both countries that it remains a strong and
stable company in the future."
But some U.S. lawmakers wanted to call attention to BP's
alleged involvement in the release of the 1988 Lockerbie bomber who killed more
than 270 people, most of them Americans, when he blew up a Pan Am jet over
Lockerbie, Scotland. Last year, the Scottish government released the
cancer-stricken man back to Libya on compassionate grounds.
The decision drew fire from both sides of the Atlantic,
including senators from some east coast states that were the homes to many of
the victims. They pressed Cameron to look into the decision.
"We need the facts, we need the truth. And there's so
much new evidence, circumstantial evidence, that justice may not have been done
in this case, that in fact this release might well have been tied to BP's
interest in drilling off the coast of Libya," said New York senator Kristen
Gillibrand. "We have beseeched the U.K. government to do this investigation, to
make sure it's independent, to get the facts so that the families of New
Yorkers, of people from New Jersey, from all across our nation can know that
justice was served in this case."
BP faces accusations that it lobbied for the bomber's
release to further its drilling plans off the coast of Libya - a $900 million exploration
agreement signed with Libya Investment Corp. in 2007. The company has
acknowledged that it urged British government to sign a prisoner transfer
agreement with Libya but denies it specified the Lockerbie bomber. Cameron has also
denied the talks between BP and the British government included the Lockerbie bomber
release, but many remain skeptical.
"We made the case that there's too much suspicion here to
just brush this aside," said New York senator Charles Schumer.
At the end of their meeting with Cameron, the senators
left with the impression that there might be further investigation.
"I appreciate and
respect the comments that he has made that this was a mistake as the Prime
Minister," said New Jersey senator Robert Menendez. "But while we appreciate
and respect that, it cannot mean 'case closed.' And when I said that to him, he
said, 'Well, it's not case closed.'"
But it would appear that it is. Though he has stated he
thinks the release was wrong, Cameron refused to open a new inquiry on the
Lockerbie bomber case. Obama stood by Cameron but added that "all the facts"
needed to come out.
Cameron took the reins in the U.K. in May. He and Obama
expressed a united front on Iran's nuclear program, the need for direct peace
talks in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Cameron hopes to have Britain's
10,000 troops out of the country by 2015. Of the NATO nations, Britain has the
second-most troops in the country after the U.S.
Cameron also invited Obama and first lady Michelle Obama
to a state dinner with Queen Elizabeth in London, an invitation the president
accepted. No date has been set.
(Photo
courtesy: AP Images)
