All language subtitles for Lockerbie The Bombing of Pan Am 103 S01E02 1080p WEBRip x264-BAE_track3_[eng]

Interviewer: I wanted to
show you these pictures, dick.

These were actually taken
by a colleague of yours.

Oh, uh, yeah. I know about
these pictures.

Some of them.

Remember seeing the seats. Yeah.

But that shoe,
we had a picture of that shoe

On our office wall
in washington.

Sort of a reminder.

We weren't doing this
for ourselves,

We were doing it for them.

Reporter: Pan am flight 103
crashed

Into the scottish village
of lockerbie.

Two hundred and seventy people,
most of them americans, dead.

It was the worst terrorist
attack on an airline ever.

Reagan: We have no knowledge
of how this happened.

We're trying to find out.

Man 1: It was an attack
on america.

Man 2: The largest crime scene
in history.

Man 3: Two-hundred-thousand
pieces of evidence.

Man 4: My daughter hadn't just
died in an accident,

But had been brutally murdered.

Man 5: They killed our children.

Man 6: To be lied to
for 30 years.

Man 7: I think the us government
had an agenda.

Reagan is the biggest terrorist
in the world.

Woman 1: If it's up to
our government,

We might not ever know
the truth.

Man 8: Nothing is what it seems
in the lockerbie story.

Before I became an fbi agent,

I was a baltimore city cop.

We had crime scenes
like in a house,

In an apartment.

You know, on the street.

But not 845 square miles
that we had in lockerbie.

Newsreader: The wreckage of
pan am flight 103

Scattered across the scottish
countryside.

Newsreader 2: Hundreds of police
are involved in the searching,

Many of them volunteers from
all over scotland.

Phil: I got the call
immediately.

My acting supervisor told me

They'd already made
arrangements

For me to be assigned

Over to new scotland yard.

I had worked murder
investigations,

But not of this scale.

I mean, you're talking about

270 people murdered...

..At the same time.

Nothing can prepare you
for that.

Teams of investigators from the
british and us governments,

Boeing aircraft and pan am are
attempting to find the clues.

It was an attack on america,
'cause it was an american plane.

And, at that time,

It was the worst terrorist act
against the united states.

Bruce: A large amount of
middle eastern terrorism

In the 1980s was geared towards

The united states
and against us imperialism.

Because of the pervasiveness
of the united states,

Oil companies in particular,

That were very active in the
middle east.

And then, of course, you had
the us military presence

That was seen as
using its military

As an extensive of this
imperialist,

Capitalist, postcolonial effort.

Nic: The iranians in particular

Thought the united states
had usurped power in iran.

They took it back in 1979.

So, this animosity ran deep.

And it had been running deep
for a number of years.

Phil: But also, we were
suspecting the iranians,

Because in July of 1988,
the vincennes,

Which is one of our military
destroyers,

Accidentally shot down
an iranian airliner.

Dick: There was a war going on
in the middle east

Between iran and iraq.

Radio: You are approaching
a us navy warship,

Bearing 090,
5 nautical miles from you.

Dick: Uss vincennes
was a navy ship

That was sent
into the persian gulf

To protect tankers
coming out of kuwait

Bringing oil to the west.

There was an iranian commercial
aircraft near the ship.

They thought,
onboard the vincennes,

That this was an incoming
iranian fighter aircraft.

Nic: And it wasn't until
they shot it down,

They realised that it was
a passengers jet.

And 290 people were killed
onboard that plane.

Reporter: Sunday's
missile strike

By the us warship vincennes

Killed 290 passengers on an
iran air flight over the gulf.

Reagan: I won't minimize
the tragedy.

We all know
that it was a tragedy.

But we're talking about
an incident

In which a plane on radar

Was observed coming in the
direction of a ship in combat.

And so I think it was
an understandable accident

To shoot, and think that they
were under attack

From that plane.

We will, in due course,
have our own response

To the american crimes.

Reporter: Will it be
a military response?

Well, I-I-I do not disclose
what kind of response

Would be from our side.

But naturally, an appropriate
and measured response

To the magnitude
of the crime.

Nic: So, the iranians had
every reason

To want to seek retribution
from the united states.

(crowd chanting) down, down,
usa! Down, down, usa!

Phil: We thought
there was no way

That iranians were not going to
retaliate for that.

An eye for an eye.

The first suspects we had were
a palestinian terrorist group.

They were suspected of planning
to take out an american airliner

On behalf of the iranians.

Because of the downing
of the iran air flight.

Dick: They were
the popular front

For the liberation of palestine
general command - pflpgc.

They had a cell that was
operating in frankfurt.

Phil: We thought the bomb

Had probably come on the feeder
flight from frankfurt

That connected with
pan am 103 in london.

It's one thing to believe it.

As investigators,
we need evidence.

Dick: About a month
after the bombing,

The scottish police,

They hadn't brought in
all the aircraft parts.

We were still trying to
figure out what we had

In terms of evidence.

But fortunately,
one of the police officers

Was examining a piece
of the cargo container

That contained the suitcase

That we believe
contained the bomb.

This particular cargo container
was made out of aluminum.

Or as the scots would say,
aluminium.

But as he was banging it
on the ground,

This small fragment fell out.

I don't care if you have the
biggest hands in the world,

That's a small fragment.

That fragment turns out to be
from a toshiba rt-sf16,

Two-speaker radio
cassette recorder.

Newsreader: Two months
before lockerbie,

German police raided an
apartment near frankfurt

Belonging to members of
the pflpgc

And found an arsenal of
weapons,

Including a toshiba radio
cassette player

Converted into a bomb,
like the one used at lockerbie.

When they were arrested,

They had these modified
tape recorders

That had plastic explosive
semtex in it.

So, pflpgc, suspect number one.

But the german police
from day one,

Wanted to insist
that the pflpgc

Had nothing to do
with this bombing.

They said,
"we arrested them all,

"we incarcerated them
in October,

"two months before the bombing.

"this cell has been totally
dismantled."

Unfortunately,
by December 1988,

There were only two people
still in custody.

We got intelligence information
that there may have been bombs

That had been not seized when
the germans did their search

Of all the premises
in October of 1988.

That perhaps that total...
That cell,

If they were still involved,
had not been totally dismantled.

We really felt strongly now
the pflpgc were responsible

For the bombing of
pan am flight 103.

Dick: As I recall,
some time in January,

A man walks into the us embassy
and delivers a letter.

Dick: And the letter is
faxed to us.

Good old modern technology
of the day.

He says, "I was just in libya
at this meeting",

And he mentions
a bunch of names,

"and they look like
a group of thugs,

"and I think
they're responsible

"for conducting the
pan am 103 attack." okay?

But that letter didn't give us
a whole lot of leads.

We didn't know who he was.

Phil: That tip-off meant nothing
at that time.

Because we were keenly
interested in the pflpgc.

We managed to get copies
of the german investigation.

The challenge was it was
all in german and arabic.

So, I went back to washington

And supervised their translation
of the german documents.

Quite honestly,
the pflpgc and toshiba radio

Did not lead us
to a lot of places.

But then, the hand of god...

..You could feel...
Feel it on that investigation.

A tiny piece of clothing
that had bomb explosive damage

Was recovered in that
845 square mile crime scene.

Dick: The forensic examiners
in England

Would discover that within
that fragment of clothing

Was a small fragment
of circuit board.

And that became known as pt/35.

That fragment turns out to be
key in this story.

Lucas: After the bombing,
we were gonna visit lockerbie.

I'm gonna guess, mom,
that it was probably...

..Somewhere between two and four
weeks before we went over there.

Yeah.

Lucas: We were brought
to the spot that he was found.

There was a crater
where he landed that was...

..Three-to-four feet deep.

Three-to-four feet wide.

You could tell that he
hit the ground pretty hard.

He was sitting in one of
the first intact rows

That hadn't been blown up
by the bomb.

The blast probably rendered him,
at the very least, unconscious.

The initial injury

Was that the arteries
were ripped from the heart

Because of the enormous
pressure change.

And that would have been
instant.

Lucas: He might have had
a millisecond of knowledge

That there was something amiss.

But we've, I think,
all come to agree

That he didn't suffer.

Victoria: We were desperate to
get the personal possessions.

And I'd heard that there had
been some sort of controversy

About are we going to get

The personal possessions back
or not?

Because there was really no
budget to decontaminate things.

I eventually did get john's
luggage returned to me.

All of his clothes, everything,
all the contents were clean

And nobody... John never came
back from a business trip

With clean laundry.

Newsreader: In a warehouse
on the outskirts of town,

Volunteers have begun cleaning
the belongings

Of the passengers and crew

So they can finally be
sent home to relatives.

Interviewer: And how did it feel
each time you opened a suitcase?

Elma: It was strange.
It depended who it belonged to.

Sometimes it really got to you
and other times, it was just...

..Something that had to be done.

Moira: I had a little red dress.

The child was two, three.

A baby.

I would come home and cry
sometimes.

Elma: Oh, yeah.

And my husband would say,
"you're not going back."

But...

-We were there the next day.
-..We went back.

Moira: It was something
I had to do.

I just wanted a family
to get back that thing

That you could take it
and cuddle it.

Hold it.

Because there was nothing else.

This is alexander's jacket
that was found in the wreckage.

And as you can tell,
the holes, the burn holes.

Of course, there's a little tiny
'a' in here somewhere.

He put this 'a'
into all his clothing.

And every once in a while,
when it gets chilly in here,

I actually put it on
and feel good about it.

Each item, no matter how
shredded or full of holes,

Or burnt it was,

It was laundered, ironed
and wrapped in tissue paper.

And that was a great, great deed

That the lockerbie people
did for us.

We will be forever grateful
for that.

-We done it with love.
-Mm-hm.

We did.

Phil: The scottish detectives

Did spend an exhaustive amount
of time looking at the debris.

Eventually, the investigators
found a piece of clothing

With blast damage
that had yorkie clothiers on it.

We concluded from
the blast damage

That it had been packed
with the bomb.

We were able to trace
that company in malta.

At the same time,
we're discovering that there was

A baggage record
from frankfurt airport.

Phil: That printout sheet had

This unattended
piece of luggage.

Dick: So, this suitcase
was not connected

To anybody on the flight.

That suitcase
was destined to pan am 103

Through frankfurt,
and it came from malta.

We thought that could be
the suitcase

That contained the bomb.

Malta is a small island
in the mediterranean

Between Italy and libya.

All of a sudden,
we're starting to realize

That malta is key in this story.

Interviewer: What did you
make of it when you arrived?

Well, you're talking about
a very small island

Out in the middle
of the mediterranean.

Not too many people
even know about it.

But, great people, great food.

We visited the yorkie clothing
manufacturer here in malta.

And they were able to tell us
where they sold those clothes.

And it was tony gauci's shop.

Ok, yeah,
that's where tony's shop was.

That's where
a major breakthrough

In our investigation took place.

We interviewed tony gauci
and we were just astonished.

He remembered this person
coming into the shop,

Because he just bought clothes
at random,

He didn't care what size.

He bought this tweed jacket

That he said had been sitting
around in his shop

For five years.

Because in malta
you don't wear wool.

Tony gauci didn't know this,

But we had already found
a tweed jacket

That we believe
was in the bomb suitcase.

He said if he saw him again,
he could remember him.

That was critical for us.

We got one of our artists.

They drew what he believed
the person looked like.

We believed at that point

That the palestinians were
responsible.

But he remembered this person,
who he described as a libyan.

Libya certainly was
a rogue country,

Sponsoring terrorist incidents
across the globe.

The then leader of libya
was colonel gaddafi.

Dr. Guma: In September 1969,
gaddafi waged a military coup.

He started bringing in
a major change

Politically and economically.

But, very quickly, he took over
as an absolute ruler of libya.

Colonel muammar gaddafi viewed
the western colonialism of libya

As a gross affront.

He viewed western oil interests

As exploiting libya's
most precious natural resource.

Libya's relationship
with many western nations

Was not in a good place,

Because muammar gaddafi
was a tyrant.

He introduced his own brand
of arab socialism.

And at that time, the cold war
was on

And 'socialism'
was a dirty word.

Gaddafi was also sponsoring
international terrorism

And terrorists
of different stripes.

Libya was a dictatorship,
but it had a small military,

And terrorism was really
gaddafi's only way

Of getting even with the west.

Good evening.

The finger of suspicion
is pointing hard tonight

At muammar gaddafi,
the libyan leader,

In connection with the latest
terrorist activities in europe.

In 1981, president reagan
was elected to office

On a platform
to get tough on terrorism.

Let terrorists be aware

Our policy will be one of
swift and effective retribution.

President reagan
and colonel gaddafi

Locked into this intense
personal enmity.

Reagan is the biggest terrorist
in the world.

This mad dog of the middle east

Has a...
A goal of a world revolution.

In the united states,
colonel gaddafi was seen

Not just as a rogue,
but also as a lunatic.

Reporter: Relatives of americans
killed in the terrorist bombing

Of pan am flight 103

Met for more than an hour
with president bush.

He heard strong complaints,

Ranging from failure to notify
passengers of the threat,

To state department
insensitivity.

I couldn't believe
that this country,

Which we all love so much,

Had allowed over 200
americans to be blown up

And then respond with
utter silence.

We wanted the truth, we
wanted to be change makers

And also force our government
to hold those accountable

John's job was a lot of
international travel.

And I said, "I'm really worried
about terrorist attacks."

John, here he is saying,
"oh, listen, dear, don't worry,

"because I'm always
flying pan am."

And he came in with a
full-page newspaper ad

That said that um...
Pan am was the safest airline.

They had launched
a $5 security surcharge

For each leg of the ticket.

In 1989, president bush
put together

A white house commission
on aviation safety and security.

And I was one of
only three civilians

And three family members
that was involved.

I found out that all of the
tens of thousands of dollars

That they were collecting daily,

None of those funds had been
sequestered for security.

Anthony: The world
was very different then.

In those days, you could just
basically walk on to a plane.

You know, you'd check your bag,
maybe,

But after that, you just walked
to the gate.

We were just beginning
to deal with terrorism

And it was still relatively easy
to fly.

It's kind of amazing
to think about it now.

But it was events like lockerbie
which changed all of that.

Victoria: I travelled with
the faa red team.

I was appointed the liaison
with the families.

And this red team would go in
and try to breach security.

The fbi agent
would take his gun

And buy one of those
big gulp drinks

And he would pour out the drink,
put the gun inside of that.

And we would put our carry-on
on the conveyor belt

And he would take his big gulp

And put it on top
of the scanner.

And then we'd walk through
the metal detector,

Then he'd grab his big gulp
drink and keep walking.

You know, I-I witnessed them
breaching security

About 80% of the time.

Interviewer: What did you think

When jim swire took his
fake bomb onto a plane?

I thought he was very brave.

His 20-year-old daughter died
when a terrorist bomb blew up

Pan am flight 103 over
lockerbie, scotland, in 1988.

Now, jim swire says

He has proven the tragedy
could happen again.

Jim: I was going over,
not very long after lockerbie,

To talk with the
american relatives.

And we were booked on
a ba flight from heathrow.

Newsreader: A few weeks ago,

Swire carried a replica
of the pan am bomb

On a flight from london
to new york.

I thought, I'll try and find out
whether the security at heathrow

Really is any good,

As the government is telling
everybody it really is.

So, I got onboard

And flew with that exact copy
of the lockerbie bomb,

From heathrow airport
to the united states of america.

Victoria: You know,
all of a sudden,

They were accidental
activists.

Family members who wanted
to find out the truth.

You know, they wanted
to make sure

That what we were going through
wouldn't happen again.

Newsreader: The fake bomb
was not detected by security

At london's heathrow airport.

The bomb had a dummy detonator,
timer, batteries

And a pressure switch.

Marzipan was used to simulate
the plastic explosive material.

Interviewer: Did you ever
question yourself?

Yes.

Uh, of course it was
an obsession.

But then I was pretty crazy
at that time,

Because of the freshness
of that bereavement.

I'd have done anything I could
for flora.

Phil: I'd reached a point
where, in my mind,

Based on what I understood,

The palestinians
couldn't have done it.

They just didn't have that
presence and connections

On the island of malta.

And then you had to think back.

Tony gauci said libyan.

He knew the difference between
a palestinian and a libyan.

Years ago, I worked on
libyan intelligence,

Terrorist investigations,

And we knew at that time
that malta was a place

That the libyans would transit,

Coming from libya
eventually to the united states.

So, they had a major presence
here.

So, I went to my supervisor

And I said, "you know, I don't
really think it's the pflpgc.

"our focus needs to turn
to the libyans."

Relations with libya
were already strained,

But the catalyst
for increased escalation

Of us-libyan tension

Occurred with the bombing

Of the labelle discotheque
in west berlin in April 1986.

The reagan administration
was strongly suggestion

A gaddafi connection
to the weekend bombing

Of a west berlin discotheque,

In which a us serviceman
was killed.

Reporter: The estimate
of those injured in the blast

Was revised upward,
from 150 to over 200.

Reporter 2: It was just before
2am when the bomb exploded

With devastating results.

The disco is in
the american sector

And a favorite nightspot

For off-duty united states
servicemen.

The americans felt
that this was a direct attack

On american citizens,

So they wanted to, obviously,
punish gaddafi.

America's allies clearly
are concerned

That this us-libya dispute
could explode into war.

Reporter: One option
open to president reagan

Is to send f-111 bombers
against libya

From this base in britain.

Dick: You have starts and
stops in any investigation,

And sometimes things pan out,
sometimes they don't.

Now, pt/35.

The fragment of circuit board
that was found

Blown into that clothing.

Well, the scottish police,
after they spent six months

Going to 17 countries,
55 companies,

They cannot figure out what
pt/35 is.

No criticism.

So, we asked,
"can we take this out now

"and do something with it?"
and they said yes.

They give tom thurman,
who works in the fbi laboratory,

Permission to do it.

He talks to his contact.

Bingo.

We match pt/35 to a circuit
board that goes to a timer

Manufactured by a company
called mebo

In zurich, switzerland.

But then edwin bollier says,

"gee, I didn't think
you found me

"because of this timer
that I built.

"I thought you found me because
of that letter I dropped off

"at the embassy".
And we all went, "what?"

He's telling us, in 1989,

"I don't think the palestinians
did this.

"I think the libyans did this."

Now, why he would
want to point the finger

At one of his benefactors?

Somebody that had given him

Millions of dollars of business
over the years.

I don't know the answer to
that.

And it may well be
a moment of conscience.

Interviewer: Do you ever think
about what happens

With your electronic equipment?

Here now, speaking from
the white house

Is the president
of the united states.

My fellow americans,

The evidence is now conclusive

That the terrorist bombing
of la belle discotheque

Was planned and executed

Under the direct orders
of the libyan regime.

At seven o'clock this evening,
eastern time,

Air and naval forces
of the united states

Launched a series of strikes
against the headquarters,

Terrorist facilities
and military assets

That support muammar gaddafi's
subversive activities.

Reporter: Within sight
of our seafront hotel,

'a series of flashes
and a low rumbling

Indicated that
the intended targets

Were well within the city.

Reporter 2: The command
and living center

Of colonel muammar gaddafi

Was a primary target
of the american raid.

The bombs came
right to the front door.

At the central hospital,
the senior doctor estimated

That between 60 and 100
casualties had been brought in.

Two other hospitals have
also been taking in casualties.

Nic: Members of his family
had been targeted.

And that was personal.

That was an animosity
her bore against reagan.

Anthony: I had been to libya
in the year before lockerbie

To cover a speech by gaddafi,

And walked into a shop
and found this set of stamps.

Commemorative stamps
of the attack on tripoli.

It's a really gruesome
illustration

Of american warplanes

And libyans literally bleeding
and in hospital beds.

You don't have to look too long

To realize they think americans
are terrorists.

Dr. Guma: I don't think it
achieved any purpose.

It was not the right way
to deal with gaddafi.

Gaddafi was humiliated by that.

His nose was bloodied.

So, I think he had enough motive
to have revenge against america.

Phil: I believed that the
libyans were responsible

For the bombing of
pan am flight 103.

I sat in my office
in the embassy.

I thought I needed to get
a full understanding

Of the libyan presence
on the island.

And so I did something

That might have been
unprecedented at the time.

I knocked on the door
of the cia,

And said, "I need your help."

Back in those days,

The relationship between the fbi
and cia wasn't that good.

I was told, "hey, don't be
working with the cia."

Well, like I said,
I felt compelled.

They could do things that we
couldn't do,

The fbi couldn't do.

They could come up with
informants, double agents.

Who they were,

What role they played
for the libyan government.

And they came up with the name
of lamin fhimah.

He turns out to be
the libyan airlines manager

Who was working at the airport
here on malta.

The cia found out

That his friend was
abdelbaset al-megrahi,

Who they said
was an intelligence officer.

And then we looked more
into his background

And found out that he also
was connected

With the airlines
back in tripoli.

He was libyan airlines'
head of security.

Bingo.

Because we were looking
at how a piece of luggage

Could have got
into the airline system

With an explosive in it.

It had to be somebody

That was probably connected
to the airport.

Then we realised that lamin
fhimah owned a travel agency,

Called med tours,
here on the island.

We were able to go into
that office.

And as we were looking around,

I saw this diary
sitting on this desk,

And it turned out to be
fhimah's desk.

It was in arabic, but there was
one word that was in english

That said, "taggs",

T-a-g-g-s, as I recall.

We talking luggage tags?

So, we had it translated.

"take tags from air malta."

And on another page... It said,

"take tags from the airport
for abdel basset."

That's megrahi.

And this was like
another "ah-ha" moment.

So, we needed to find
al-megrahi.

But a problem is,
we didn't have a picture.

I asked my cia partners

If they could find a photo
somewhere in the world

And I mean the world,
of megrahi.

I got a call.

Dick: Czechoslovakia
security service gave us

A passport picture of megrahi.

We were doing high fives
and low fives and hugs

And stuff like that.

Then we find out
that abdelbaset al-megrahi

Has another office
in zurich, switzerland,

Down the hall from mebo office.

It's like,
"ok, we're on the right track."

Here, this office is,
well, it's mebo.

And then on this side
was the office from abdelbaset.

Interviewer: Megrahi had
an office

Across the hall from
edwin bollier!

It just seems so extraordinary
to be a mere coincidence.

It's not, it's absolutely
not a coincidence.