(Newswire.net — October 2, 2016) — Washington, DC – After pushing the controversial 9/11 bill and overriding the presidential veto, some top Congress leaders express remorse, CNN reports.
The new law allowsthe families of the 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia simply because the investigation showed the terrorists involved in the attack had Saudi passports. The bill not only draws rage from Saudi Arabia, the US’s biggest ally in the Middle East, it also violates international law.
While agreeing with some of the White House’s concern over this controversial law, the GOP leaders blamed Obama because he didn’t explain well enough what could follow next, and how bad this law is for the US.
Both the Senate and the House ruled on Wednesday in favor of the 9/11 bill, overriding President Obama’s veto of JASTA (the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act).
Now, the House realizes that JASTA could ‘backfire’ as countries could sue the US in the same way, so it is searching for a model to ensure that US troops are protected, House Speaker Paul Ryan said.
“I’d like to think there is a way we can fix it so that our service members do not have legal problems overseas while still protecting the rights of the 9/11 victims,” Ryan said at his weekly news conference.
Ryan did not said exactly how the law could be rewritten to accommodate only US citizens with the same rules not being applicable vice versa.
Speaking at a separate news conference, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shared Ryan’s concerns. He said that “there might be some unintended ramifications” worth further discussing.
Admitting the law has its flaws, McConnell accused President Obama for not clarifying enough why he vetoed the bill. He said that Obama didn’t reach out to him until after the bill had passed both chambers, been vetoed, and was facing an override vote that clearly was going to succeed.
“Because everyone was aware who the potential beneficiaries were, but nobody focused on the potential downside in terms of our international relationships,” McConnell said.
Emphasizing that he does not blame the President for everything, McConnell said that it would have been helpful if there was a discussion about the down side of the law “earlier than last week.”
It was obvious, however, to anyone with basic understanding of the law and its implication, that JASTA could open ‘Pandora’s box,’ and backfire on the US. Additionally, there is no mechanism that could force Saudi Arabia, or any country in the world, to accept and comply with whatever was ruled in court in the US.