The Saudi Arabian government rebuked the U.S. Congress’s Wednesday passage of a bill that will allow Sept. 11 victims and their family members to sue the Middle Eastern nation for its alleged financial support of the 9/11 hijackers.
“The enactment of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) is of great concern to the community of nations that object to the erosion of the principle of sovereign immunity, which has governed international relations for hundreds of years. The erosion of sovereign immunity will have a negative impact on all nations, including the United States,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said in a statement.
“That is why the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the CIA have expressed their opposition to JASTA as it has been drafted. JASTA has been opposed publicly by many nations as well as dozens of American national security experts who see the dangers that JASTA represents,” the press release stated.
The ministry said it hopes Congress takes steps to change the law, an idea that some lawmakers were already talking about just hours after the bill became law.
The Obama administration had rejected the bill, and President Obama vetoed it. But both the House and Senate voted to override that veto, the first time that has happened since Obama took office.
