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For the first time since President Obama took office in 2009, Congress has overridden his veto.
The U.S. Senate voted 97-1 to override President Obama's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. The lone dissenting vote was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), who has "always had the president's back":
In a letter Monday to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) and ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter warned that allowing the bill to become law risked "damaging our close and effective cooperation with other countries" and "could ultimately have a chilling effect on our own counter-terrorism efforts." Thornberry and Smith both circulated letters among members in the last few days, urging them to vote against overriding the veto. CIA Director John O. Brennan also warned of the 9/11 bill's "grave implications for the national security of the United States" in a statement Wednesday.
The House of Representatives voted 348-to-77:
Congress on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override a veto by President Obama for the first time, passing into law a bill that would allow the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for any role in the plot.
Democrats in large numbers joined with Republicans to deliver a remarkable rebuke to the president. The 97-to-1 vote in the Senate and the 348-to-77 vote in the House displayed the enduring power of the Sept. 11 families in Washington and the diminishing influence here of the Saudi government.
See also: The Risks of Suing the Saudis for 9/11 by the New York Times Editorial Board and this article in the Saudi Gazette.
Previously: President Obama to Veto Bill Allowing September 11 Victims to Sue Saudi Arabia
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday September 29 2016, @05:07PM
If Dick Cheney could be prosecuted for his idiotic justifications for torture, I'd be behind that 100%. Put Bush on trial for being a malleable idiot, and for invading Iraq. Get all the executives of Haliburton too. We're to stupid to clean house for ourselves, so let the world have our criminals. Let them go after the entire military industrial complex. Maybe it's time for us to do some penance.
There's a difference between criminal trials and civil suits. No country at present is going to try to indict a major U.S. leader for war crimes or something. Maybe it could be possible in a few decades, if trends keep going the way they are. But for most countries business interests will hold sway even if there was some political will to try something like that.
And that latter point goes for civil suits too. Most countries have a lot more to lose by attacking U.S. business interests than they'd get in return for attacking them legally. I could potentially see a well-targeted lawsuit aimed at a U.S. corporation (which makes clear that the blame is being placed solely on clearly illegal actors of that corporation, to avoid spooking other business interests). But suing people like Bush and Cheney? It might get cheers from lots of people, but again, most countries would probably lose a LOT more financially than they could ever gain in a lawsuit.
So, unfortunately, I don't think this is going to be the way to bring down the "entire military industrial complex." Not when the U.S. continues to wield so much political and corporate power. Eventually, that may change, but it's not likely to be soon.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 29 2016, @05:33PM
Well, of course we'll just ignore any judgements against us, anyway. But, I do look forward to getting sued next time we accidentally drone-bomb a wedding.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday September 29 2016, @07:02PM
So, unfortunately, I don't think this is going to be the way to bring down the "entire military industrial complex."
Which means the objection was disingenuous BS now doesn't it?
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Thursday September 29 2016, @11:11PM
And that's a problem, because according to treaties the US has signed, the US should be indicting major US leaders for war crimes. The simple fact is that the US is effectively a "rogue nation" that cannot be trusted to hold to any of its agreements.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.