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Lawyers for American victims of Saddam Hussein’s crimes during the first Gulf War are pressing Congress not to give in to a Bush administration pocket veto of the defense authorization bill.
After complaints from the Iraqi government, Bush vetoed the bill because of a provision that would allow victims of terrorism to be awarded compensation from frozen foreign assets of state sponsors of terror.
While all options are still on the table as the House returns to work Tuesday, congressional leaders are considering a tweak that would allow compensation from frozen foreign assets of Iran and other state sponsors of terror, but would provide an exception for Iraq.
According to a Democratic aide, leadership will most likely refer the provision back to the Armed Services Committees to figure out a compromise, but could also consider scrapping the provision for now. House leadership is expected to meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss the defense authorization issue, the aide said.
The Bush administration and Iraqi officials have expressed concern that the provision would open up the fledgling Iraqi government to tens of billions of dollars in liability. The freezing of Iraq’s assets, even temporarily, would also deter Iraqis from working with U.S. businesses and could invite other nations to freeze American assets abroad, Bush added.
The provision’s supporters, however, charge the White House with offering misleading numbers. They say Iraq’s exposure from Saddam-era lawsuits is only about 1 percent of the $25 billion held in the Federal Bank of New York, and only a narrow swath of cases could be brought against the country.
“A carve-out for Iraq — that is no compromise,” said Daniel Wolf, the lawyer for former American hostages used by Saddam Hussein as human shields of high-profile targets, such as weapons sites. “That idea would push the Iraqi victims overboard.”
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