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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 13 2016, @09:19AM   Printer-friendly
from the otherwise-we-could-be-both-goose-AND-gander dept.

President Obama plans to veto a bipartisan bill that would create an exception to the sovereign immunity doctrine, allowing victims of state-sponsored terrorism to sue foreign governments:

President Barack Obama will veto a bill that would allow terror victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, to sue Saudi Arabia, the White House said Monday. "That's still the plan," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said when asked if the President planned to veto the bill. The White House had previously suggested Obama would not sign the bill when it first passed the Senate in May saying it would complicate diplomatic relations. [...] Lawmakers are expected to attempt to override the veto, and if successful, would mark the first time in Obama's presidency.

The bill passed in the House and Senate unanimously.

Also at The New York Times , Reuters.

S.2040 - Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act

Previously: Saudi Arabia Threatens to Sell $750 Billion in US Assets If 9/11 Bill Passes


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 13 2016, @12:08PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 13 2016, @12:08PM (#401255)

    Well the US has a very long interest with Guantanamo Bay; its not like this base just opened up.

    Guantanamo has always been an American colony, dating back to English colonial rule. George Washingtons older half brother was one of the first commanders of the colony for fucks sake. There has been a continued presence of whites in that area since the 1700's and even today some 10,000 people not in the military or in the prisons live there. Only direct flights to Kingston and Barbados and only if you are a citizen of Guantanamo. Our Passports are American but we are given a Gtmo visa when we leave. There are a few towns around he bay; most are of the English speaking kind.

    There is a lot of misinformation about what Guantanamo is, how big it is, and how many people live there. Even the Wikipedia article is biased against our history. We only agreed to the base after the Spanish-American war; we had already lived here for 150 years but our towns needed protection from retaliation. The prisons were originally a quarantine zone for illegals going to the US and the size and scope are really blown out of proportion; the entire area is smaller than WalMart parking lots. We are more like Palestine under Isreali rule with a small Hezbollah prescence. Not really American, certainly not Cuban, and with strong negative connotations unfairly attributed to our name.

    Source: was born and raised in Gitmo. Have family there; now I work in Miami and only visit 2-3 times a year. The weather is nice, internet sucks. We have a hospital, three schools, and American resturaunts.

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  • (Score: 2) by bradley13 on Tuesday September 13 2016, @01:56PM

    by bradley13 (3053) on Tuesday September 13 2016, @01:56PM (#401294) Homepage Journal

    I'd mod you up "informative" if I had points left.

    I was referring, of course, specifically to the practice of using Guantanamo to imprison people for indefinite periods of time, without legal recourse. It doesn't matter how big or how small Guantanamo is. Detaining people indefinitely, without legal recourse is a clear violation of international law; moreso because the US never actually declared war [senate.gov] on anyone.

    That's not a reflection on the poeple who live there, of course. However, the name has inevitably been contaminated by the events.

    --
    Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.