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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: 2) by takyon on Friday September 30 2016, @02:47AM
Saudi Arabia could also play a little game where they keep production high enough to price out certain sources like the oil sands and U.S. fracking, with the intent of eliminating all of their oil reserves over a certain timeframe.
Let's say that Saudi Arabia has about 300 billion barrels of recoverable oil in reserve. That is their proven oil reserves and a little extra undiscovered. Production has fluctuated between 8-11 million barrels a day over the years. At 15 million barrels per day of production, they would have just under 55 years of supply. If they can get that supply out of the ground and invest the profits in solar, fusion, playgrounds for the rich, land, etc. then they may be able to get out of the oil business around the time demand has hit rock bottom. 2071 is a pretty aggressive target for the world to be using lots of electric cars, solar, and fusion, but it's not completely unrealistic. Apparently, Saudi Arabia wants to try 12.5 million barrels a day. That would yield 65.7 years and another decade to wean the world off oil.
The gamble is to not leave any oil in the ground by the emergence of a post-oil planet, while forcing Alberta, Canada and others to leave their oil in the ground throughout. Strategic investment can help the Saudis or others buy a stake in the next energy boom. The obvious problem here is that you have to believe fusion, etc. will become viable within 50 years. The situation should become more clear soon. [nextbigfuture.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]