The Big Four in Saudi Arabia’s Government -- photo from NYTimes
If congress was to pass a law wherein there would be no effect on parties who had no involvement in the subject matter contained in the new law, how could those parties object.
On the other hand, if certain parties lobbied very hard and even went so far as to threaten retaliation if a certain law is passed then it is easy to believe that they believe the subject material of the new law will effect them very seriously.
Such is the case with the congress attempting to pass a law that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. If in actual fact, they had no role in the attacks, it is very hard to comprehend the Saudi government's threats to sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets as a retaliatory action.
On the other hand, if the Saudi government knows that it did have a role in the attacks, we can easily see that they would not want this law to pass. The very fact of the Saudi government's efforts to lobby against this new law being passed speaks volumes as a confession that they do know something and that what they know would be incriminating if explored in a court of law in this country.
From that perspective, it is not difficult to understand at all.
In view of all of that, what is going on in the Obama administration? What can be the motivation for lobbying against passage of the new law? Do they not want the truth to be revealed? Do they already know the truth?
The Obama administration cannot be seriously worried about the Saudi government selling $750 billion in treasury securities. Most likely this is a hollow threat. Such a sell-off would be difficult to pull-off. Not everyone could or would make such a purchase. Such a purchase would be at discounted prices and would end up hurting the Saudi economy. Additionally, they need us... who else would be selling them all of the that military equipment they use to bombard Yemen back to the stone age? And, as the world switches to 'renewable' energy, they need to hang on to us, their 'best friend'.
Saudi officials have long denied that the kingdom had any role in the Sept. 11 plot, and the 9/11 Commission found “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization.” But critics have noted that the commission’s narrow wording left open the possibility that less senior officials or parts of the Saudi government could have played a role. Suspicions have lingered, partly because of the conclusions of a 2002 congressional inquiry into the attacks that cited some evidence that Saudi officials living in the United States at the time had a hand in the plot.
Those conclusions, contained in 28 pages of the report, still have not been released publicly.
The dispute comes as bipartisan criticism is growing in Congress about Washington’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, for decades a crucial American ally in the Middle East and half of a partnership that once received little scrutiny from lawmakers. Last week, two senators introduced a resolution that would put restrictions on American arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which have expanded during the Obama administration.
Families of the Sept. 11 victims have used the courts to try to hold members of the Saudi royal family, Saudi banks and charities liable because of what the plaintiffs charged was Saudi financial support for terrorism. These efforts have largely been stymied, in part because of a 1976 law that gives foreign nations some immunity from lawsuits in American courts.
The Senate bill is intended to make clear that the immunity given to foreign nations under the law should not apply in cases where nations are found culpable for terrorist attacks that kill Americans on United States soil. If the bill were to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president, it could clear a path for the role of the Saudi government to be examined in the Sept. 11 lawsuits.
Those conclusions, contained in 28 pages of the report, still have not been released publicly.
The dispute comes as bipartisan criticism is growing in Congress about Washington’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, for decades a crucial American ally in the Middle East and half of a partnership that once received little scrutiny from lawmakers. Last week, two senators introduced a resolution that would put restrictions on American arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which have expanded during the Obama administration.
Families of the Sept. 11 victims have used the courts to try to hold members of the Saudi royal family, Saudi banks and charities liable because of what the plaintiffs charged was Saudi financial support for terrorism. These efforts have largely been stymied, in part because of a 1976 law that gives foreign nations some immunity from lawsuits in American courts.
The Senate bill is intended to make clear that the immunity given to foreign nations under the law should not apply in cases where nations are found culpable for terrorist attacks that kill Americans on United States soil. If the bill were to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president, it could clear a path for the role of the Saudi government to be examined in the Sept. 11 lawsuits.
After all of these years, it is well past time for the truth to come out, and that's the truth !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment