http://www.philly.com/philly/business/80045552.html
Posted on Thu, Dec. 24, 2009

Specter looks to revive 9/11 suits against Saudis

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer

In a sign that the bitter litigation between victims of the 9/11 attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia is far from over, Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday introduced legislation that would overturn court rulings barring lawsuits that contend the desert kingdom helped cause the terrorism.

Specter (D., Pa.) said the legislation would clarify that lawsuits by U.S. citizens could go forward without a sign-off from the State Department.

A federal appeals court in Manhattan last year dismissed claims against the Saudi government, saying such litigation can proceed only if the State Department finds that the Saudis provided financial aid and other assistance to terrorist groups.

Besides clarifying the law, the bill would reinstate those lawsuits.

Phila. firm appeals 9/11 suit to U.S. high court By Chris Mondics INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20081112_Phila__firm_appeals_9_11_suit_to_U_S__Supreme_Court.html

Thousands of victims of the 9/11 attacks appealed to the Supreme Court today, asking it to overturn a lower court decision barring lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for supporting acts of terrorism.

The petition contended that U.S. intelligence agencies had unearthed ample evidence of the Saudi Arabia government's providing tens of millions of dollars to Islamist charities that in turn funded Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization.

U.S. government officials had repeatedly warned Saudi officials in the 1990s that government-backed charities were providing money and logistical support to bin Laden, but they failed to do anything about it, the petition said.

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruling in Manhattan, said Saudi Arabia and members of its royal family were protected from being sued because the State Department had not officially designated the desert kingdom as a supporter of terrorism."

"In their lawsuits, the victims alleged that over a period of a decade or more, officials of the government of Saudi Arabia had financed Islamic charities that, in turn, had become the sources of funding for Islamic terrorists, first in Afghanistan and then later in Bosnia Herzegovina and, ultimately, in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The victims offered as evidence testimony by senior U.S. Treasury and State Department officials and other U.S. government findings that the charities had become conduits for terrorist financing, beginning in the mid-1990s. U.S. officials have said that although the Saudis have taken some steps to crack down on the charities, they remained concerned that some charities continue to be sources of funding for al-Qaeda."

The Bush story about 9/11 takes a hit from their ally the Washington Times- exposure of Saudi involvement in 9/11 is exposure of Bush family/administration involvement in 9/11.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/foes-not-friends/

Foes, Not Friends
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
The Washington Times | Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The United States is in mortal period from a false friend: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The peril emanates from the totalitarian legal-religious-military-political code the Saudis call Shariah and their assiduous efforts to impose it worldwide. The danger is enormously exacerbated by the almost-complete failure of American officials at every level of government to acknowledge, let alone act to prevent, the Saudis' true agenda.

Three examples are instructive:

It's nice to see some right-wing media supporting public disclosure and truth regarding 9/11; the Cozen O'Connor Saudi lawsuit is getting attention. I find it hard to believe, with 7 years of research and millions invested by this lawfirm, that they didn't also uncover links to US, Pakistani and Israeli principals, if not direct evidence of responsibility, foreknowledge, negligence, complicity, etc., if they think they have enough evidence to prove to a jury that the govt of Saudi Arabia "intended" the 9/11 attacks to happen. Of course, he's got his career and fortunes riding on this, so he'll just target the Saudis; the right-wing will also target the Saudis; and the 9/11 truth movement will use whatever facts are brought to light by this case about Saudi Arabia's involvement to continue making the case to America and the World that the official 9/11 story isn't true and that full investigations with the power of the law and public oversight behind them are called for before another decision is made based on the belief that 9/11 was exclusively an Al Qaeda operation, before 9/11 is used to justify any policy or to rouse fear or patriotic fervor.

Lots of html links in the article; follow the link to to the original for working links:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/hot_topics/19374964.html

Posted on Thu, May. 29, 2008

Sept. 11 Lawsuit

The lawsuit

An epic lawsuit filed by Philadelphia firm Cozen O'Connor looks to place direct blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a host of individuals, banks and groups so that it can recover billions of dollars in damages.

The following excerpts from the lawsuit are in the form of .pdfs, and vary in length from 12 to 61 pages. There is some overlap, in instances where a section ended in the middle of the page; the excerpt that follows picks up on that same page.

1. The list of plaintiffs and defendants. Read the document

2. Background on the actions leading to the lawsuit, and beginning of the allegations against each defendant. Read the document

3. More background on the actions leading to the lawsuit. This section presents allegations against the defendant banks and other financial institutions. Read the document

Related to the Cozen 9/11 Saudi victim's family lawsuit:

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20080531_A_former_al-Qaeda_fighter_accuses_a_Saudi_charity.html

Posted on Sat, May. 31, 2008

Special Report

A former al-Qaeda fighter accuses a Saudi charity

By Chris Mondics
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

DOBOJ, Bosnia - For years, Saudi Arabia flatly denied it had provided money and logistical support for Islamist militant groups that attacked Western targets.

But that assertion is disputed by a former al-Qaeda commander who testified in a United Nations war-crimes trial that his unit was funded by the Saudi High Commission for Relief of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, the former al-Qaeda fighter, gave the same account to The Inquirer in an interview in this struggling city in the central Balkans.

"Because it was the biggest charity, [the commission] helped the mujaheddin the most," Hamad said, adding that it had provided "everything a person needed to exist."