Posted on 06/23/2009 10:06:24 AM PDT by Sergeant Tim
The potential loss of tens of billions of dollars in damages is not what the Saudis fear most, should the Supreme Court allow this lawsuit to move forward. Way down in the Washington Times' article today about the Obama administration irking 9/11 families by asking the Supreme Court to deny their appeal of a ruling barring a lawsuit against Saudi princes was this gem:
"A Justice Department spokesman said the administration held the meetings to hear from family members and declined to discuss details. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said that while he sympathized with the families, the State Department is pursuing a broader strategy, using multiple tools to reach beyond U.S. borders and freeze terrorist assets."
That was a hard pill for one who had bet on hope:
“I find this reprehensible,” said Kristen Breitweiser, a leader of the Sept. 11 families, whose husband was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. “One would have hoped that the Obama administration would have taken a different stance than the Bush administration, and you wonder what message this sends to victims of terrorism around the world.”
The lawsuit would crack open a window into Islamic "charities" worldwide. Instead, we will continue to turn a blind eye to terror financing. Saturday, the AP reported al Qaeda's finances are recovering:
"As the Taliban gains power in Afghanistan and Pakistan, its money is coming mostly from extortion, crime and drugs, the AP found in an investigation into the financial network of militants in the region. However, funding for the broader-based al-Qaida appears to be more diverse, including money from new recruits, increasingly large donations from sympathizers and Islamic charities [emphasis added mine], and a cut of profits from honey dealers in Yemen and Pakistan who belong to the same Wahabi sect of Islam. ... "In three of the last five years, the No. 1 source of money into Pakistan through this hawala system has been the United States, according to the Pakistani security official. He couldn't say how much of the money went to terrorists and how much was sent from Pakistanis abroad to their families."
President Barack Obama said this during his June 4 speech in Cairo:
"Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That's why I'm committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat."
Al Qaeda is banking on that change.
Ping!
Thats funny, I thot “free trade” and internationalizing of justice was a GOOD thing. But apparently, thats only for the use of Wall Street bankers, and government types, to use against us.
Little people need not apply.
In an unrelated story, terrorists get to sue former captors, and must be read Miranda rights.
Obama lets Haji sue us,,,but we cant sue them. And face it, Bush would have sided with the Saudis on this too.
Of course, there is another* way to see this. Kristen Breitweiser, the woman in the story, is one of the famous “Jersey Girl” millionaires. She was a massive Obama supporter and big Gorelick “911 commission” supporter.
Until Obama’s DOJ filed, the government had not filed a brief in the case; it had all been waged by private attorneys. Yet your point is taken.
While few 9/11 family members are actual plaintiffs in the lawsuit, it has considerable support from those on both sides of the aisle among them. The Washington Times names a few who do not share Kristen Breitweiser’s political views.
Bear in mind too, im not a Bush hater in any way. Disagreed with a lot of his choices, but i can’t imagine him supporting it either. They opposed similar lawsuits where victims of Iranian terrorism. were trying to collect against Iranian assets in the USA, frozen since ‘79.
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