RICHMOND, Va., July 25, 2007
Sudan Ordered To Pay USS Cole Families $8M
Families Of 17 Sailors Killed In 2000 Terrorist Attack Had Sought $105M Compensation
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Nelson Jones, an attorney for the families of sailors killed in the USS Cole attack, arrives at the Federal Court Building in Norfolk, Va., on March 14, 2007. On July 25, a judge ordered Sudan to pay nearly $8 million to the families of 17 sailors killed in the attack. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot)
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Damage to USS Cole destroyer (DDG 67) anchored at port of Aden, Yemen, Oct. 27, 2000. (AP/National Security News Agency)
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Interactive USS Cole Get the details on the explosion of the destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port city Aden.
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."
The families accused Sudan's government of providing support, including money and training, that allowed al Qaeda 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.
"I was a little bit disappointed in the overall ruling, because we figured we was going to get more, but I'm happy that that part of the case is over," said Lorrie Triplett, 39, of Suffolk, whose husband, Andrew, died on the Cole. "For myself and my girls, I am happy for the ruling — it will suffice them."
Sudan had sought unsuccessfully to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that too much time had passed between the bombing and the filing of the lawsuit in 2004. Lawyers representing the Sudanese government did not offer opening statements or closing arguments or question any witnesses.
An attorney for the families has said it would be up to the lawyers to collect damages from Sudan's assets that have been frozen in the United States.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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So you have a "get out of dead for free" card up your sleeve ? The bad news is, craponbrain, we can't bring them back to life.
But if you look at her response, and then read the below, one would think the quote was either poorly chosen (gee, THAT would be a surprise with our wonderful news media), or it was deliberately take out of context to cause the very reaction you gave. Don't you feel a little used ?
"Doumar applied the Death on the High Seas Act, which permits compensation for economic losses but not for pain and suffering. "
Ya wanna bet she was a little disappointed (for a D A M N good reason that she wasn't going to be compensated for her pain and suffering?
Piece'oshit - life ain't strange - you are. So, tell us where you wrote in while all this was happening, or have you ALWAYS been a day late and a dollar short ?
"Tell me again what Bush did in return for the Osama bin Laden incident." stevex47
We know you can't read stevie, but have you heard about Afghanistan ?
If i were Sudan I would not pay a cent until this matter were addressed. If I were a family member of a victim from the Liberty I would sue the US government to make them sue Israel and make the story of the Liberty known to every child and adult in America.
"Tell me again what Clinton did in return for the Cole incident"
Tell me again what Bush did in return for the Osama bin Laden incident.
Better yet, shoot off all the nukes and end it all. Fake moon landings, false flag operations on skyscrappers full of civilians from your own country.... all so I'm in debt for land to live on for life and a lousy i-Phone? The cavemen had it better!
Millions are dying from starvation and AIDS, and the government has done absolutely nothing, and the U.S.[Federal Government i.e. Crts.]finds the time out of its busy schedule to sue on behalf of the 17 soldiers killed in 2000--because the Sudan had trained and finanically supported al Qaeda recruits.
What about the al Qaeda terrorist trained here in the U.S. [pilot training schools] that spearheaded the attack on the World Trade Center killing over 3,000, well whom/who should their families sue????
This is insane, the Sudanese government needs to allocate more funding and assistance to stop the threat of terror by the Janjawee on the millions of Sudanese people, instead of redirecting funding to pay for this nonsense.
Instead of accepting Osama from the Sudanese, the Clinton team blew up a pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan claiming it was making WMDs. What a farce!
The question that needs to be asked is why Bush's ambassadress to Yeman did not cooperate with the FBI task force sent there to investigate the case. The head of that task force was murdered, his first day on the job at the WTC on 9-11.
It's all about money! Sad