The Victims of Terrorism: An Assessment of Their Influence and ...

Pan Am 103: The Predecessor to 9/11 19Splits such as these appear inseparable from the formation of victims’ groups. Followingthe attacks on 9/11, for example, there was an attempt by families to create a single group, whichinevitably failed, as people with different visions could not agree. People’s diverse personalitiessimply prevented them from working in full cooperation. The result was an organic processof people with various opinions and priorities establishing or gravitating to their own groups.The family members of Pan Am 103 victims came together as a single entity thrown togetherby tragedy, which resulted in the rise of high levels of tension. These families had no templatefrom which to work or learn and thus accepted forced cooperation as the most logical next stepto promote and achieve the aviation security changes to which they were committed.The reasons behind the Pan Am 103 division fundamentally stemmed from the differenttactics that both Hudson and Ammerman pursued. Ammerman’s critics accused him of getting“too cozy” with the State Department and later taking advantage of his three-year term aspresident of VPAF 103, trying to silence those families that did not agree with his conciliatorytactics. Some family members, for instance, disagreed vehemently with this approach, arguingthat the George H. W. Bush administration was intent on whitewashing Syria’s and Iran’salleged roles in the bombing to ensure their quiescence, if not alliance, as the prospects of warwith Iraq increased throughout the latter half of 1990. Among the most vocal proponents ofthis view were Dan and Susan Cohen, who had lost their daughter, Theodora. Ammerman andthe majority of the group, however, chose to accept that responsibility for the inflight bombingrested fully with the two Libyan intelligence agents indicted for the crime in 1991. 2 Familiesof Pan Am 103/Lockerbie, the rival group to VPAF 103 established by the Cohens, amongothers, has long supported the punitive multibillion-dollar lawsuit brought against the governmentof Libya and considers itself less lenient than VPAF 103 in its search for answers to thePan Am attack (“Lockerbie Crash,” 1997).Both Cummock and Hudson have each pursued independent avenues outside of the Familiesof Pan Am 103/Lockerbie organization to attract attention and support for their relentlesscampaign to improve airline security. In several ways, their efforts parallel those takenby 9/11 victims. Key figures, such as the four Jersey Girls, rose to become prominent mediapersonalities and movement leaders much like Cummock and Hudson, who similarly tried towork through governmental channels to achieve their aims. Originally an active member ofVPAF 103, Cummock decided to funnel her efforts into securing government accountability.As early as March 9, 1989, she traveled to Washington and testified before the U.S. HouseForeign Affairs Subcommittee on International Operations, then considering a revision of theState Department’s budget to deal with the bombing’s repercussions. A staunch supporter ofthe Republican Party, Cummock also used her own political connections and those of friendsto arrange a meeting between President George H. W. Bush, herself, and four other familymembers on April 3, 1989 (Gerson and Adler, 2001, pp. 37–39 and 42). That same weekend,she succeeded in meeting with the senate minority and majority leaders, Bob Dole (R-KS) and2 Susan and Dan Cohen lost their 20-year-old daughter Theodora, a University of Syracuse student, on board Pan Am103. Originally members of VFAF 103 who left to join Families of Pan Am 103/Lockerbie upon its formation, the Cohensquickly relinquished all membership ties to work independently. Using the media, they have widely disseminated theirnegative views and distrust of the U.S. government (Cohen and Cohen, 2001).