AMERICA’S DOUBLE EDGED SAUDI SWORD

Deyan Ranko Brashich

I do not like the Saudis very much.  Saudi Arabia is a vile, evil, corrupt oligarchy calling itself a monarchical autocracy, whatever the hell that is. It is a brutal dictatorship no matter what name it goes by. Years ago the Saudi Royal Family made a devil’s pact with Sunni’s Imams to promote and protect Islam’s Wahhabi brand of religion in exchange for continuing political support. That allowed this version of Islam to morph into a repressive intolerant creed seeking acceptance in the rest of the Muslim world.

Saudi Arabia was Osama bin Laden’s place of birth and home to 15 of the 19 hijackers of the 9/11 attacks. Conspiracy theories abound in the press and on the internet as to who was ultimately responsible. Domestic and foreign intelligence agencies have conducted wide ranging investigations. A United States Congressional inquiry resulted in a “Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States” [“The 9/11 Report”]. It suggested Saudi Arabia as a possible “source of foreign support for some of the September 11 hijackers”, however, 28 pages of the Report have remained classified and hidden from public scrutiny.

Members of Congress who have seen still secret portion of the 9/11 Report and anonymous sources have hinted that “the upper ranks of Saudi royalty bankroll[led] the attacks and facilitat[ed] the hijackers’ arrival in the U.S.” The information in the 28 pages “was suppressed to protect the United States’ relationship with oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which remains a key ally in the Middle East.” Money it seems is more important than lives.

Congress is prepared to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, the new law that would allow the victims of 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia if it “participated in terrorism …[then] … this bill would allow … victims of terrorism to go to court to determine if the Saudi government participated in terrorist acts. If the Saudis did….” as Senator Chuck Schumer puts it “… they should pay a price.”

Before the United States unsheathes this sword it should realize that it is double edged and that one of those sharp edges could well come back to strike here at home. However, if the United States is prepared for such a result I would support this use of force.

Just to be sure that we understand what is at stake. If the legal fig leaf of sovereign immunity is lifted then all sovereign state actions, yours, and ours are subject to review. Today U.S. courts could decide Saudi Arabia’s liability for the 9/11 attacks and impose civil and criminal liability. Tomorrow Iraq’s courts could decide the United States’ civil and criminal liability for civilian murders by drone and other acts of “terrorism”.

The idea of sovereign immunity is based on street gang rules of engagement – the Bloods and the Crips can do what they want on their respective turfs. This is called the law of “reciprocal self-interest” – don’t fuck with me on my turf and I won’t fuck with you on yours.

The proposed legislation would “create an exception to immunity from civil lawsuits for foreign nations accused of facilitating terrorist attacks in the United States…” You can be sure that the all foreign states would follow this precedent even if such would be contrary to established international law.

Commentators have suggested that America’s “aid to Israel that is said to result in displacements or killings in the West Bank, or to United States-backed rebels who are accused of attacking civilians in Syria – might result in a lawsuit abroad for aiding and abetting terrorism” and that “American airstrikes against Al Qaeda and associates, and against the Islamic State [using] targeting practices …. that result in civilian casualties … [are] a form of terrorism” giving rise to criminal and civil liability before foreign courts.

Is this a threat to sovereign immunity that the United States is prepared to face? I think not. Barack Obama is keenly aware that it is the executive branch of government that the sword will first strike and lop heads; he has made it clear that he will veto the legislation.

But let me be a devil’s advocate on the issue. There is general agreement that war crimes and crimes against humanity should be punished. Ad hoc tribunals such as those for former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, East Timor and Sierra Leone have been created and operate. While not everyone – notably not the United States – has ratified and acceded to the International Criminal Court 124 countries have gone aboard; today it is functioning in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Doing away with the restrictions imposed by sovereign immunity might be a good thing. The enforcement of the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and prosecuting violations of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity by giving private individuals the right to sue for compensation before national courts would be a step forward.

Don’t hold your breath, it ain’t going to happen. The people who run the world are not going to put their lives and reputations on the line. They will continue to hide their dirty little secrets in 28 classified pages of a Congressional Report that will never see the light of day.

Deyan Ranko Brashich is a contributor writing from New York. He is the author of Letters from America, Contrary Views and Dispatches. His contact and blog “Contrary Views” is at www.deyanbrashich.com