Travis, Yeah but President Obama ONLY kissed his hand. Former President Bush was fond of playing tounge twister with the Saudi nobility. Well, YOU brought such things up.
On May 30, 2:28 pm, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > From: *Travis* > Date: Sat, May 30, 2009 > Subject: Justice Dept. Backs Muslim Saudi Royal Family on 9/11 Lawsuit > > No surprise from this Administration, considering the Muslim in Chief bowed > and kissed the hand of the Saudi King. > > B > > *May 30, 2009* > > *Justice Dept. Backs Saudi Royal Family on 9/11 Lawsuit * > > *By ERIC > LICHTBLAU<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/eric_lic...> > * > > *New York Times* > > WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is supporting efforts by the Saudi > royal family to defeat a long-running lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for > the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. > > The Justice Department, in a > brief<http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20090529_Families.pdf>filed > Friday before the Supreme > Court<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/s...>, > said it did not believe the Saudis could be sued in American court over > accusations brought by families of the Sept. 11 victims that the royal > family had helped finance Al > Qaeda<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/a...>. > The department said it saw no need for the court to review lower court > rulings that found in the Saudis’ favor in throwing out the lawsuit. > > The government’s position comes less than a week before President > Obama<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_o...>is > scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia with King > Abdullah<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/abdullah...>as > part of a trip to the Middle East and Europe intended to reach out to > the > Muslim world. > > Lawyers for the Saudi family said that they were heartened by the > department’s brief and that it served to strengthen their hand before the > court, which has not decided whether to hear the case. > > But family members of several Sept. 11 victims said they were deeply > disappointed and questioned whether the decision was made to appease an > important ally in the Middle East. The Saudis have aggressively lobbied both > the Bush and Obama administrations to have the lawsuit dismissed, government > officials say. > > “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.” > > Bill Doyle, another leader of the Sept. 11 families whose son was killed in > the attacks, said, “All we want is our day in court.” > > The lawsuit, brought by a number of insurance companies for the victims and > their families, accuses members of the royal family in Saudi Arabia of > providing financial backing to Al Qaeda — either directly to Osama bin > Laden<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/osama_bi...>and > other terrorist leaders, or indirectly through donations to charitable > organizations that they knew were in turn diverting money to Al Qaeda. > > A district court threw out the lawsuit, finding that the Foreign Sovereign > Immunity Act provided legal protection from liability for Saudi Arabia and > the members of the royal family for their official acts. > > Solicitor General Elena > Kagan<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/kagan_el...>said > in the brief to the Supreme Court that her office agreed with the > United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit “that the princes are > immune from petitioners’ claims,” although she pointed to somewhat different > legal rationales in reaching that conclusion. > > Ms. Kagan noted that the Supreme Court had historically looked to the > executive branch to take the lead on such international matters because of > “the potentially significant foreign relations consequences of subjecting > another sovereign state to suit.” > > The government said in its brief that the victims’ families never alleged > that the Saudi government or members of the royal family “personally > committed” the acts of terrorism against the United States “or directed > others to do so.” And it said the claims that were made — that the Saudis > helped to finance the plots — fell “outside the scope” of the legal > parameters for suing foreign governments or leaders. > > Justice Department officials declined to address the issue of whether the > timing of the brief was related to Mr. Obama’s trip to Riyadh, but other > lawyers involved in the case said the timing appeared to be coincidental. > They said as a practical matter the department, which was invited to state > its views in the case in February, needed to do so by this week if it hoped > to influence the court’s decision on whether to accept the case before it > leaves for summer recess in June. > > William H. Jeffress, a Washington lawyer who is representing Prince Turki > Al-Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador to the United States who is one of the > princes named in the lawsuit, said the Justice Department came down on the > right side of the law in supporting immunity. > > Any suggestion that the timing of the brief was influenced by Mr. Obama’s > upcoming visit was “baseless,” Mr. Jeffress said, as were the accusations in > the lawsuit itself about the Saudi ties to Al Qaeda. “Osama bin Laden is a > sworn enemy of the royal family of Saudi Arabia, and the idea that they > would be providing financial support to Bin Laden is a little absurd,” Mr. > Jeffress said. > > . > > __._,_.___ <[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > > __,_._,___ > > -- > *~@):~{> > > -- > *~@):~{> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
