Judge: Sudan Owes USS Cole Families $8M

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

By KRISTEN GELINEAU

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Sudan to pay nearly $8 million to the families of 17 sailors killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole.

The families had sought $105 million, but U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar in Norfolk ordered Sudan to pay $7.96 million.

Doumar applied the Death on the High Seas Act, which permits compensation for economic losses but not for pain and suffering.

"It is depressing to realize that a country organized on a religious basis with religious rule of law could and would execute its power for purposes which most countries would find intolerable and loathsome," Doumar wrote in his ruling. "It is a further tragedy that the laws of the United States, in this instance, provide no remedy for the psychological and emotional losses suffered by the survivors."


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070725/D8QJNPJG1.html

[Parche]

1. Sudan?

Why Sudan?

I thought that it was Yemen that this happened in?? :shrug: :hi:

[dipsydoodle]

2. It reads :

The families accused Sudan's government of providing support, including money and training, that allowed al-Qaida to attack the destroyer while it was in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000. In March, Doumar found the African country liable for the attack on the now-repaired Navy destroyer. His ruling Wednesday reaffirmed those findings.

[HuffleClaw]

3. what a load of utter crap

on the bright side, now a few million iraqis can sue the US government.

[Socal31]

4. So alot of Iraqis have died on the "High seas"?

Umm....

[conspirator]

7. Iraq was invaded in breach of international law. So who cares about international law now? nt

[Socal31]

8. Actually, it wasnt.

Call me a "rethug" or whatever else you want. I am just a realist. NO, we shouldnt have gone there. NO, we shouldnt be there. But unless you are just a BLIND partisan, you would know that we were still in a technical state of war with Iraq. The FIRST TIME they shot at one of our planes patrolling the No-fly zones, we had the LEGAL right to invade. Sorry if that ruins yours and others day, but its true.

Does this mean we should have? NO.

Edit: Spelling

[FredScuttle]

10. Oh fuck, Switzerland gave one of our planes the evil eye!

INVADE!!!!


"legal right to invade"...that's one of the more laughable posts I've seen here in a while.

[Nihil]

11. What?

> The FIRST TIME they shot at one of our planes patrolling the No-fly zones,
> we had the LEGAL right to invade.

The first time they shot at one of your planes patrolling the illegal
no-fly zones, you had the legal right to invade?

Fuck. I must need more coffee.

Either that or you are being "just a BLIND partisan".
I don't need any more coffee.

[ohio2007]

5. I'm sure Sudan will pony up the cash on their next foreign aid payday

[pschoeb]

9. My guess is that Sudan was sued because they already have assets frozen in the US

Otherwise this would be something of a symbolic gesture. I'm guessing that was a factor in determining what country could be sued to get some cash, as Yemen is an ally now, and does not have any frozen assets, and it would be a stretch to say they were materially involved. Sudan only has $68 million in frozen assets, but that is still $4 million a piece.

The person supposedly responsible for planning the attack was Abu Ali al-Harithi, a Yemeni assassinated by the US in Yemen in 2002. As far as I can tell, he had no clear links to Sudan. Also implicated by this suit is Abdul Majid al-Zindani, who the Yemeni govt. protects as he is a close friend of the President, he is claimed to have coordinated the attacks with persons in Sudan supposedly, but I have seen no evidence of this.

I believe the Sudanese assets were frozen after the 1998 bombing attack on the US embassy's in Africa. The US also bombed Sudan's only pharmaceutical plant at that time, which was claimed to be making biological weapons for al-Quada(with an added fun and completely bogus Iraqi govt. involvement), but in fact there doesn't seem to be any convincing evidence of anything, the owner sued in US court to have his assets unfrozen, but the US govt. decided not to fight and unfroze his assets. I'm not sure how many people have died in Sudan due to lack of adequate cheap medication, especially for malaria.

[Eugene]

6. Sudan to appeal verdict in USS Cole bombing case

Source: Reuters

Sudan to appeal verdict in USS Cole bombing case
26 Jul 2007 14:39:18 GMT
Source: Reuters

KHARTOUM, July 26 (Reuters) - Sudan said on Thursday
it would appeal a U.S. court verdict that ordered Khartoum
to pay some $8 million to the families of U.S. sailors killed
in the bombing of an American naval destroyer seven years
ago in Yemen.

"We will appeal the ruling," Sudan's Justice Minister Mohammed
Ali al-Mardi told Reuters.

He said his ministry would review the court verdict and ask
Sudan's lawyers to challenge it.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B868384.htm