America will never forget the events of 9/11, and neither will the members of Congress who instituted a new bill that would allow the families of the 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for their alleged role in supporting the attack. President Obama vetoed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) due to the possibility of serious repercussions from Saudi Arabia.
However, on Sept. 28, Congress overruled Obama’s veto of the legislation.
“This bill is near and dear to my heart as a New Yorker,” Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer said. “Because it would allow the victims of 9/11 to pursue some small measure of justice, finally giving them a legal avenue to pursue foreign sponsors of the terrorist attack that took from them the lives of their loved ones.”
A legal avenue Schumer failed to mention, is that the bill threatens to destroy whatever stabled relationship America has left with Saudi Arabia. Congress’ mistake of passing the 9/11 bill does nothing to combat terrorism, and the decision was made on the basis of a broken “them versus us” mentality.
JASTA would not bring peace
Repercussions of the JASTA bill includes sizeable damage to this nation’s reputation of preaching peace and prosperity on a national and international scale. President Obama mentions such an issue in his veto message:
“JASTA threatens to reduce the effectiveness of our response to indications that a foreign government has taken steps outside our borders to provide support for terrorism, by taking such matters out of the hands of national security and foreign policy professionals and placing them in the hands of private litigants and courts.”
This bill enables Americans to demonize Saudi Arabia. It sets them up to place blame on a national identity, ethnicity and history, for America’s terrorism problem, instead of on the terrorists and their ideals themselves.
America needs a stable relationship with Saudi Arabia
According to the New York Times, when Saudi Arabia got word that America would threaten them with JASTA, they in turn threatened to sell their $750 billion in U.S. treasuries and other American assets should the bill become law.
“Such a behavior was never witnessed in the history of international relations and will be a dangerous precedent and a serious breach of the rules and basic principles of international law,” Saudi Arabian minister Sheikh Al-Samaani said. “This law would harm the U.S. by disturbing trust between Washington and other states.”
President Obama struggles to keep the U.S.-Saudi Arabia alliance due to both countries’ opposing views on Iran, Israel and democracy. He knows that Saudi Arabia heavily invests in U.S. weaponry, a major producer of jobs in the U.S. The new law threatens an already shaky relationship between the two countries.
Despite what people believe, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia share a common goal of fighting the War on Terror. The threat of JASTA could potentially destroy the relationship between the two countries, and any good ties America has left with Saudi Arabia.
(This article was also posted on Ka Leo.)
Comments