This week the House and Senate are expected to vote on whether to override the President’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act [“JASTA”]. JASTA would allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia over allegations Saudi officials were linked to the 9/11 attacks. The bill makes no judgment about Saudi Arabia’s responsibility for the attacks. It just removes Saudi Arabia’s immunity from lawsuit over support for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both support the bill.
Call your Representative now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:
“I urge you to vote the override the President’s veto of the Saudi 9/11 bill so the 9/11 families can have their day in court.”
When you’ve made your call, please report it below.
Under current U.S. law, Americans can sue Iran for terrorism in U.S. courts, but they can’t sue Saudi Arabia for terrorism in U.S. courts, because Iran is on the State Department’s “state sponsor of terror” list and Saudi Arabia is not. The State Department is allowed to take “broader U.S. foreign policy interests” besides concern about support for terrorism into account in forming its list – like the Saudi government’s cozy relationship with the C.I.A.
In January, the New York Times reported that:
“The support for the Syrian rebels is only the latest chapter in the decades-long relationship between the spy services of Saudi Arabia and the United States, an alliance that has endured through the Iran-contra scandal, support for the mujahedeen against the Soviets in Afghanistan and proxy fights in Africa. Sometimes, as in Syria, the two countries have worked in concert. In others, Saudi Arabia has simply written checks underwriting American covert activities … the long intelligence relationship helps explain why the United States has been reluctant to openly criticize Saudi Arabia for its human rights abuses, its treatment of women and its support for the extreme strain of Islam, Wahhabism, that has inspired many of the very terrorist groups the United States is fighting.”
Call your Representative now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:
“I urge you to vote the override the President’s veto of the Saudi 9/11 bill so the 9/11 families can have their day in court. Governments should be judged by one standard on support of terrorism, regardless of how cozy they are with the CIA.”
When you’ve made your call, please report it below.
And if you haven’t signed our petition to Congress yet, you can do that here.