THANKS, DOC.  I'LL RECOMMEND YOU TO MY FRIEND – AT 11:01 A.M. ET:  As you know, one of the murderers of PanAm 103, the flight bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland, with a loss of almost 200 Americans, and many more from other lands, was released by Scotland in 2009 on "compassionate" grounds.  The release came after a doctor had said the thug had only three months to live.  He's now been alive in Libya for a year.

There have been credible reports that the release was really about United Kingdom oil deals with Libya.  Now, the doctor who made the call is eating his medical words:

LONDON (AP) — A cancer expert who said Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi had only three months to live before his release from prison was quoted Sunday as saying he should have been more cautious about the prisoner's chances of survival.

Al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds from a Scottish prison in August 2009, and allowed to return home to Libya, where he continues to be treated for prostate cancer.

The Libyan is the only person to have been jailed over the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 above the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, which killed 259 people — mostly Americans — onboard and 11 more on the ground. He was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison.

Al-Megrahi was freed by Scotland's government following advice from medical experts and a prison doctor. At the time of his release, al-Megrahi was not expected to survive for more than three months.

Three other experts provided an opinion for the Libyan government on al-Megrahi's condition. While those assessments were shared with Scottish authorities, officials insist those opinions were not taken into account when deciding to release the bomber.

"If I could go back in time, I would have probably been more vague and tried to emphasize the statistical chances and not hard fact," Prof. Karol Sikora, one of the experts who provided an assessment for Libya, was quoted as telling Britain's Observer newspaper on Sunday.

COMMENT:  Quick, get this quack for Obamacare.  SEE all the savings resulting from Dr. Sikora rejecting claims because a patient, suffering from prickly heat, has only three months to live.  SEE Dr. Sikora honored as "diagnostician of the year" by the Obama White House.  Forget the green card.  Just send him over here.

Yuch.  I'd like to know how much pressure was applied to this doctor.

August 15, 2010