Senate passes legislation allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue SA

[Luiz 4,253]

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, rejecting the fierce objections of a U.S. ally and setting Congress on a collision course with the Obama administration.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, approved by voice vote, had triggered a threat from Riyadh to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if the bill is enacted.

The legislation, sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., gives victims' families the right to sue in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed thousands in New York, the Washington, D.C., area and Pennsylvania.

The House still must act on the legislation.

Relatives of Sept. 11 victims have urged the Obama administration to declassify and release U.S. intelligence that allegedly discusses possible Saudi involvement in the attacks.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir denied earlier this month that the kingdom made any threats over the bill. He said Riyadh had warned investor confidence in the U.S. would shrink if the bill became law.

"In fact what they (Congress) are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities, which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle," Al-Jubeir said in a May 3 statement.

The Treasury Department said Monday that Saudi Arabia in March held $116.8 billion in Treasury debt.

Passage of the bill sends the message that the United States "will combat terrorism with every tool we have available, and that the victims of terrorist attacks in our country should have every means at their disposal to seek justice," Cornyn said.

Schumer said that any foreign government that aids terrorists who strike the U.S. "will pay a price if it is proven they have done so."

Read more: http://www.wsmv.com/story/31994932/senate-approves-sept-11-legislation-despite-saudi-threats#ixzz491CiuKLI

[Didymus 34,380]

lol

Nearly all of those victims got over a million dollars in exchange for not attempting to sue the airlines involved for the lack of security measures that got those terrorists on the planes in the first place.

The matter of foreign governments supporting terrorism is interesting and urgent, but I can't say I'm impressed it's coming from this angle..

[Monster2015 1,117]

But Bush motivated 9/11????? What kind of reverse warholian??? 

[Princess Die 1,864]

Good luck getting anything you greedy bastards. 

[MJHolland 12,725]

Great. It's a common sense bill. What happened was a tragedy that SA turned a blind eye to. Nearly all of the hijackers were from SA and the country has done absolutely nothing the weed out extremists. In fact, the government actually promotes extremist and fundamentalist Islam.

2 minutes ago, Princess Die said:

Good luck getting anything you greedy bastards. 

That's an absolutely horrifying thing to say. It's about justice for people that lost their lives and loved ones. 

[Princess Die 1,864]

Just now, MJHolland said:

It's about justice for people that lost their lives and loved ones. 

Don't pretend it is. If it was, they would be able to sue someone..."closer". 

[Sizzily 14,571]

6 minutes ago, Princess Die said:

Good luck getting anything you greedy bastards. 

wtf is wrong with you

[MJHolland 12,725]

Just now, Princess Die said:

Don't pretend it is. If it was, they would be able to sue someone..."closer". 

What? It's about bring justice to the largest state sponsor of radical Islamic terrorism. The fact that you would call them greedy bastards... it's absolutely revolting

[Lion Heart 15,041]

Obama will veto if this passes the House (which it probably will).