On Friday September 9th Congress passed a September 11th Legislation which would allow for families of the victims from the September 11th attacks 15 years ago to sue Saudi Arabia. Despite the many objections from Saudi Arabia, the Senate passed this 4 months ago. 15 of the 19 hijackers in 2001 were Saudi nationals which is why suing Saudi Arabia would be "valid". The White House has hinted that Obama may veto this legislation because of the belief that it would backfire. If U.S. citizens are allowed to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts then the message is being sent that other foreign nations could sue the U.S. This would also strain the already weak relationship the U.S. has with Saudi Arabia. In order for the veto to be overruled a two-thirds vote would be needed from the Senate and House of Representatives. Some argue that if the Saudi Arabian government had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks then they should have nothing to fear but so far there has been no comment made from Saudi Arabia on the issue.
1) What is your opinion on this legislation?
2) What do you think Obama should do? Should he veto the legislation?
3) If you were/are a family of a victim of the 9/11 attacks do you think it is fair to sue Saudi Arabia? Why?
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/wnews/2016-09-10/house-passes-sept-11-legislation-as-obama-veto-threat-looming/1776425168084.html
On the legislation, I believe that suing a nation who did not back such attackers would complicate the situation for U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia on an international level. Obama's take on the repercussions of other nations then suing america or Saudi Arabia retaliating is correct and instead I believe it would only be fair and the best outcome of the tragic aftermath for the U.S. families to gather repayments from the U.S. government itself to promote well being for the families instead.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tomislav. There is not a good reason to sue Saudi Arabia for people that they are not responsible for. It's wrong to blame an entire country for a crime that a small group of people took part in. Obama should veto the legislation. Even if I was in the family of one of the victims of 9/11, I would not feel like suing Saudi Arabia is making any progress. There is no compensation for the death of the victims.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree that it is a good idea to sue Saudi Arabia because they are not responsible for what happened. Its not fair for to blame Saudi Arabia for something they didn't do. Obama should veto this. I think it wouldn't be advised to sue them because it would only hurt us.
ReplyDeleteI think that suing an entire nation for the act of individuals would definitely backfire on the US, considering that it would be a big generalization being made about ALL the people in Saudi Arabia. After such a destructive event as 9/11 that caused so much animosity, it's best to look to lessen tensions rather than increase them through suing a whole nation.
ReplyDeleteI think that suing the Saudi Arabian government is valid. Looking at the recently declassified 28 pages listed in the article, a large portion of the 9/11 terrorists are not just Saudi Arabian, but involved with the Saudi Arabian government.If Americans sue Saudi Arabia, maybe a more in depth investigation can occur, and bring to light the truth of 9/11.
ReplyDeleteI do not think they have the right to sue Saudi Arabia because it is wrong to sue all the people of Saudi Arabia. This attack was not an act planned by the nation so why should they all be punished?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the legislation because Saudi Arabia must atone for their sins. 9/11 was very bad and it made a lot of kids sad. In order for America to not go boom boom we needs the citizens to bring doom to Saudi Arabia. Realistically this court cases aren't going to actually do anything because we can't actually believe Saudi Arabia is going to just throw around free money, but it has a comforting factor that gives an adequate sanctification for American citizens. Basically this thing doesn't actually have any impact.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with the legislation. Just because 15 out of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia doesn't mean that all of Saudi Arabia was responsible. Yes, those 15 hijackers may have taken lives. But 15 is so little a number when compared to the population of Saudi Arabia. And even if they did sue them, what would they get? Money? Nothing can compensate for the loss of a life.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they have the right to sue saudi arabia because it was not the governments fault; it was the fault of some of the citizens. If I was a family member of one of the victims, I would not sue because it isn't the government's fault.
ReplyDeletePersonally I do not think that suing Saudi Arabia was the best choice that we could have made at this point. Yes, people are very angry, sad, frustrated that those terrorists had to come to this country to do horrible things, but we can not blame the whole entire government of Saudi Arabia. I think the best choice that they could have gone with was to ask for an apology for letting that event occur in the first place. Obama should not veto this legislation because it would be an act if pinning the blame on another country and that would make us look untrustworthy towards our own allies and potential allies. This will lead other countries to believe that we have the power to sue anyone and that will make us the number one threat towards them.If I was one of the family members of one of the people that we had lost on that dreadful day, I would just want an apology from someone because nothing can pay the price for the death of a loved one.
ReplyDeleteThought it is true that families should always have the right to grieve for their loved ones that they have lost, I don't believe it is necessary to sue Saudi Arabia as they have nothing to do with it. To be quite honest I believe Bush might have had something to do with 9/11.
ReplyDeleteI believe if they were to sue it would uphold negative values, the President should veto this legislation because it would teach America that they shouldn't blame others for something that isn't their fault, it would also be problematic for the government of Saudi Arabia to have so many lawsuits they cannot keep up with.
ReplyDeleteI believe if they were to sue it would uphold negative values, the President should veto this legislation because it would teach America that they shouldn't blame others for something that isn't their fault, it would also be problematic for the government of Saudi Arabia to have so many lawsuits they cannot keep up with.
ReplyDeleteThe article brings up a very good point about the legislation opening the doors for the US government to be sued. I mean, if Americans can sue the Saudi Arabian government for supporting terrorism, (which by the way, is a claim that has no concrete evidence) then they, and plenty of other countries can sue the US right back. Addressing those who support this legislation: You say these terrorists are awful people and need to atone for their sins? Well what do you think of our actions in Guantanamo Bay? The criminals we blame for 9/11 are the exact people we've been denying basic human rights to for the past 15 years. I mean, we don't even know if they actually are the right people, because we haven't even given them the chance to prove they aren't. That's pretty messed up. What do you think about the US supporting rebels in Syria? Our meddling in Korea? Argentina? Colombia? Try I can list countless other times where the US government has backed inhumane and demoralizing governments in foreign countries. Try justifying that.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, just to clarify a little something from the comments above...suing a country's government is not an overgeneralization of a country. It does not mean that the whole country and its people are responsible for said crime. It is blaming specifically the government. That said, I still don't support this legislation, if it wasn't obvious.
Suing another country that we already don't have great relations with will only lead to more conflict and tension. I believe the President should veto it b/c nothing good can come from this legislation. Although the families who have lost someone may deem this valid, it could lead to another event like 9/11. We need to be careful about who we want as enemies. This legislation will only bring harm.
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of the many stupid ideas America has made. One because if we sue Saudi Arabia then it would mean that other countries would have the power to sue us, thus tarnishing our relationships with other countries. Second of all, this is blaming the people of Saudi Arabia who had nothing to do with it because this was a group of terrorist who decided to act on their own.
ReplyDeleteI think individuals suing Saudi Arabia for the attack is ridiculous. Saudi Arabia, as a whole, did not plan the attack; several extreme individuals planned it. Also, I don't think families will find any consolation for blaming the whole country for the attack. I believe Obama should reject this idea.
ReplyDeleteI don't think people should be allowed to sue Saudi Arabia just because some of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. I think Obama will veto this because people can then sue the US for anything an American has done in another country.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with this legislation because I think it is inappropriate to put the blame on the Saudi Arabian government and nation itself for the violent terrorist attacks committed by a select few of their citizens. It cannot be argued that Saudi Arabian culture or principles led to the formation of al Qaeda or inspired the involvement of the attackers in 9/11. The families of the victims of 9/11 should be given support and aid, but this should not be from a foreign government, it should be from our own.
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ReplyDeleteFiling a lawsuit against the whole body of Saudi Arabia may not be a good idea, but I support the right of individuals to sue individuals of other countries so that justice can be served all across the world. Not only can it comfort the families who had lost their loved ones during the 9/11 attack, it helps with the effort against terrorism.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with this legislation because you can not hold a country responsible for an act of terror coming from a terrorist group who has members from all of the world.
ReplyDeleteLike the article said, passing this legislation would only weakest the already strained relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia. I think that Obama should veto this legislation because it is not fair to blame an entire country based of what a few people did. Although it does reflect on the country, it does not be the country should be forced to take all the responsibility for it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany. I do not agree with this legislation because they would be blaming everyone in saudi arabia for what a few people did. The innocent civilians don't deserve that. Just like the people in the 9/11 attacks don't deserve what happened to them. I think Obama should veto this because it doesn't make sense to punish a whole country for what a few people did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany. I do not agree with this legislation because they would be blaming everyone in saudi arabia for what a few people did. The innocent civilians don't deserve that. Just like the people in the 9/11 attacks don't deserve what happened to them. I think Obama should veto this because it doesn't make sense to punish a whole country for what a few people did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany. I do not agree with this legislation because they would be blaming everyone in saudi arabia for what a few people did. The innocent civilians don't deserve that. Just like the people in the 9/11 attacks don't deserve what happened to them. I think Obama should veto this because it doesn't make sense to punish a whole country for what a few people did.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with passing this legislation because it is entirely wrong to sue a country for terrorist attacks that were committed solely by a group of people. Also, weakening the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia through suing would yield nothing good at all.
ReplyDeletePersonally I believe Obama should not enforce this legislation in which allows the victims of the 9/11 incident to sue Saudi Arabia. In this case, the mastermind behind this terrorist attack was the terrorist group known as the al-Queda which was created by Osama Bin Laden. As a response to the attack we assisnated Osama with highly trained soldiers for what he has done. Considering this factor, if victims of the incident chose to blame someone, it should be the terrorist group.
ReplyDeleteI believe that passing the legislation law is not the best idea i'd say because the whole country should not pay for something that was done by a group of people that are out of control
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