(Bush) Administration seeks to void damage award to Gulf War POWs

[SoCalDem]

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2803912.php

April 08, 2004

Administration seeks to void damage award to Gulf War POWs

By Jennifer C. Kerr
Associated Press


The Bush administration urged an appeals court Wednesday to overturn a judge’s order awarding nearly $1 billion in Iraqi money to 17 Americans taken prisoner by Saddam Hussein’s government during the 1991 Gulf War. Attorneys for the POWs, who were tortured and starved, countered that the award — to be paid from Iraqi government assets frozen in this country — in no way threatens the rebuilding of Iraq, taking issue with the central argument of the administration.Justice Department attorney Gregory Katsas said that foreign policy interests are at stake, and that the POWs’ claims should be handled through diplomatic channels rather than the courts.

snip....

Stewart Baker, attorney for the POWs, told a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that his clients simply want the judgment in their favor upheld to affirm their suffering and allow them to collect at a later time. “French oil companies are going to walk in and say ‘I have a contract signed by Saddam Hussein and I want to be paid,’ and they’re going to have a claim that is recognized under international law,” Baker said outside court. “We think this is a debt incurred by Saddam Hussein that deserves much more priority than some French oil contract.”

Ret. Col. David Eberly, who was held by the Iraqis for more than 40 days, said the government’s effort to void the ruling is disappointing. “Today, the argument boils down to the fact that the government simply wants to say ‘thank you very much for your service and now go home and live forever the horrors and the memories of your captivity and the torture that went on.”’ he said. “I think that’s unjust.”

....snip....

U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts sided with the POWs last summer and ordered payment of $653 million in compensatory damages and $306 million in punitive damages. But the Justice Department stepped in and said the POWs could not have access to any of the $1.7 billion of Iraqi assets frozen in 1990. It argued that President George W. Bush formally seized those assets after the invasion of Iraq last year and that the money would be used for rebuilding the country. Judge Roberts reluctantly agreed that the government had the right to block those funds from being used.




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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[soccerchica]

1. Just like them

they totally dont care about the vets that have HONESTLY served this country

[opihimoimoi]

2. At the very least, those guys deserve somethin

The Bush guys are not very compassionate after all.

More like exploitors

[kispoko]

3. yep

there was a story in the local paper about this, as a local family's son was affected by bush halting the judgement....


these people were lifelong republicans, and they are *still* holding onto their illusions about the republican party, more specifically the bush administration.... this denial to their son admittedly only makes the coming election a "difficult decision" for them, not a clear cut one. and why might that be? well apparently, they still are of the belief that there's a strong chance president bush didn't know anything about this, because he's "too busy," and that if he did, they'd like to think he would uphold the award.

unbelievable right? *shakes head*


what's it going to take for people to realize this cartel is all about money, power, and themselves? granted, the judgement was way too high, but that doesn't mean they have to block an award entirely.... how many times do they have to fuck over military personnel and veterans for some people to 'get it?' apparently, some are so entirely entrenched in reverie about this administration that they can't even disabuse themselves of such illusory notions when they fuck over their own son.

[Arianrhod]

4. "what's it going to take for people to realize this cartel is all about

money, power and themselves?"

It's going to take people changing their own behavior from being all about money, power and themselves.

Conservatism is the path of least resistance.