"9/11 Families 'Ecstatic' They Can Finally Sue Saudi Arabia"

[Cigar]

Families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks today celebrated a federal court's ruling that allows relatives of people who died in the 9/11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.

Most of the hijackers who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001 were from Saudi Arabia, and the complaint states that much of the funding for the al-Qaeda terrorists came from Saudi Arabia.

An attempt to Saudi Arabia in 2002 was blocked by a federal court ruling that said the kingdom had sovereign immunity. That ruling was reversed Thursday by a three-judge federal panel.

"I'm ecstatic.... For 12 years we've been fighting to expose the people who financed those $#@!s," said William Doyle, the father of Joseph Doyle, 25, a Cantor-Fitzgerald employee who was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=212...sid=81&ts=true

I wonder when is Operation Saudi Freedom coming ...

[Mr. Freeze]

Interesting.

[jillian]

Families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks today celebrated a federal court's ruling that allows relatives of people who died in the 9/11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.

Most of the hijackers who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001 were from Saudi Arabia, and the complaint states that much of the funding for the al-Qaeda terrorists came from Saudi Arabia.

An attempt to Saudi Arabia in 2002 was blocked by a federal court ruling that said the kingdom had sovereign immunity. That ruling was reversed Thursday by a three-judge federal panel.

"I'm ecstatic.... For 12 years we've been fighting to expose the people who financed those $#@!s," said William Doyle, the father of Joseph Doyle, 25, a Cantor-Fitzgerald employee who was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=212...sid=81&ts=true

I wonder when is Operation Saudi Freedom coming ...

ah… yes. i always did wonder why the training in terrorism saudi arabia gives in its madrases was ignored.

a good chunk of AQ funding always came from there. and i recall them doing a "telethon" to raise money for terrorist groups.

but there was brother bandar et al….

[Peter1469]

The 3 judge panel said that sovereign immunity did not apply "in the interest of justice." I don't think that will stand up to appeal.

[jillian]

The 3 judge panel said that sovereign immunity did not apply "in the interest of justice." I don't think that will stand up to appeal.

i don't know… they were able to sue libya.

[Peter1469]

i don't know… they were able to sue libya.

It would be interesting to see the reasoning.

Just a thought- a sovereign state (government) can waive sovereign immunity, for example, if a state contracts with a private contractor in what is essentially a business deal, like what goes on in the commercial sector- the government has waived sovereign immunity and may be sued under the appropriate contract clauses.

Perhaps, if a state is funding terrorism, that is outside of a legitimate function of a state, therefore it has waived sovereign immunity.

[Peter1469]

i don't know… they were able to sue libya.

Were the families ever able to collect? I heard that the US government refused to release Libyan funds that it seized. Citing to sovereign immunity.

[Cigar]

i don't know… they were able to sue libya.

Notice the American Patriots?

[jillian]

It would be interesting to see the reasoning.

Just a thought- a sovereign state (government) can waive sovereign immunity, for example, if a state contracts with a private contractor in what is essentially a business deal, like what goes on in the commercial sector- the government has waived sovereign immunity and may be sued under the appropriate contract clauses.

Perhaps, if a state is funding terrorism, that is outside of a legitimate function of a state, therefore it has waived sovereign immunity.

the part in bold would be my guess and i think that's fair from a public policy perspective…. much like an employee who is acting outside of his functions as an employee is not covered by respondeat superior.

[jillian]

Were the families ever able to collect? I heard that the US government refused to release Libyan funds that it seized. Citing to sovereign immunity.

i've been trying to find out.. can't find information on it. but my recollection (which could be faulty) is they did turn over funds in the US. again, i don't recall. but they weren't barred from suit.