Fighting the Wrong Guy Over Lockerbie

A Vanity Fair contributing editor finds herself in agreement with the British publication she is attacking

Given that Vanity Fair contributing editor Vicky Ward spent the holiday attacking the British publication the Daily Mail from the pages of the Huffington Post, one wouldn't expect the two parties to have many points of agreement. On Monday, Ward  furiously rebutted an opinion which she believed was emanating from the Daily Mail and the British politicians it quoted.

The British Mail on Sunday ... queried America's outrage over Megrahi's release as being 'disingenuous,' suggesting that, of course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had known all along what was cooking ... perhaps Britain's Mail on Sunday should look for 'disingenuousness' within its own country's government--before pointing fingers over here.

Yet the Mail article in question, it turns out, was merely reporting the arguments of British officials, not advancing them. This morning, in fact, the Daily Mail an editorial agreeing with Ward regarding the British government's Lockerbie missteps. Here are the opinions side by side:

Vicky Ward:  "Every day that passes, with Brown refusing to acknowledge that Britain's interests in Libya's oil had anything to do with Megrahi's release--while his aides leak otherwise--the more tenuous his position atop Britain looks." Ward called for a "swift investigation" to "retrieve the facts about this whole messy affair."

The Daily Mail:  "British ministers have given the world a masterclass in how NOT to handle a delicate diplomatic dilemma ... Everywhere, the impression is of a weak and incompetent Government, drifting on an ocean of deceit. Mr. Brown must get a grip on the helm."