NOT GOOD, NOT GOOD – AT 10:48 A.M. ET:  Once again we see signs from the "Arab spring" that aren't very springlike.  We went to bat, seriously, for the Libyan rebels.   But, if you'll notice, Arab nations aren't very big in the "thank you" department.  Consider this, from Fox:

TRIPOLI – Libya's new government will refuse to hand over Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al Megrahi if Britain seeks his extradition, The (London) Sunday Times reported, citing senior officials.

Members of the Transitional National Council (TNC) said they would reject any attempt to return Megrahi to prison in Scotland.

Hassan al Sagheer, a member of the TNC and a legal expert, said, "Libya has never extradited or handed over its citizens to a foreign country. We shall continue with this principle."

That is despite the UK and Libya having ratified an extradition treaty in 2009.

A senior judge who took part in the early stages of the uprising that has toppled dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi emphasized another reason why Megrahi would not be sent to Britain or, as some US politicians have demanded, America -- the bomber is a member of one of the largest tribes that sided with Qaddafi during the revolt.

"Any move to hand him back would cause internal conflict at a time when we are trying to bridge differences," the judge said.

Megrahi, who was controversially released from a Scottish prison in 2009 on humanitarian grounds as he battled cancer, was convicted of killing 270 people in the notorious 1988 Pan Am airplane bombing.

COMMENT:  Thanks, guys.  Next time you get into trouble, how about calling someone else.  Our line is busy.

August 28, 2011