2016 Oct 1^st

The Congress passed a bill giving victims of the 9/11 disaster, standing to sue Saudi Arabia. Nine of the 15 hijackers were Saudi citizens and the Saudi government sponsors schools whose focus is on the evils of any non-Wahhabism religion. There is general agreement that this version of Islam, funded by the Saudis, bears some responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

Now, 15 years later, the various victims want to sue the Saudi government for their perceived role in this terror. It is an election year so can there be any doubt that the victim’s Congress persons will agree with them.  There are two problems here: Most obvious is the vanishing probability that, regardless of the legal outcome of any suit, that the Saudi government will agree with the result of any negative judgment. Second, and perhaps more important, our citizens suing the Saudi’s opens our government to lawsuits against us from the citizens of other governments and the confidential information we might have to reveal if such legal actions go forward.

Can you imagine the mess we would have if Osama bin Laden’s wives and children and the relatives of his slain bodyguards decided to sue this country for their wrongful deaths? We may know bin Laden was guilty and he has admitted it, but there was no trial.

Obama vetoed this legislation and in a rare (and stupid) bipartisan effort the Congress passed the bill over the President’s veto. This action came after the President sent a three-page letter to Congress explaining why he vetoed the legislation. The letter didn’t stop the veto override. Then just a few days later came some buyer’s remorse for the Congress. Twenty-eight members have publicly declared that parts of the bill need to be changed, Maybe they finally paid attention to the President’s letter.

Now follows the ultimate absurdity: Mitch McConnell the leader of the Senate, and John Cornyn, the Senate majority whip, both agree the veto override was all President Obama’s fault. It was his fault because he didn’t adequately consult with the Congress. Cornyn said that he was “missing in action.” But what about that letter? Oh, that came too late to do any good. Of course President Obama made his views known on this issue long before a vote was taken but if the Republicans can possibly blame him for their screw-ups they’ll be happy to do it.

Why should we be surprised that the Republicans have at the head of their ticket, a man who feuds with a former Miss Universe by tweeting insults about her at 5:30 in the morning.