Editorial Board
Overturning Obama, Congress Puts the U.S. in Danger
The law to help Sept. 11 victims' families sue Saudi Arabia would subject the U.S. to suits all over the world.
Why make it a target again?
Photographer: Tech. Sgt. Cedric H. Rudisill/DoD/Getty ImagesIt took nearly eight years for Congress to override a veto by President Barack Obama. It could hardly have chosen a worse measure on which to do so -- or a more stark way of exposing its most craven impulses.
Obama was right to reject the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow U.S. citizens to sue foreign nations for abetting terrorist acts, even if they are not included on the State Department's official list of sponsor states. While the law names no names, it is obviously intended to allow the families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged involvement.