Iraq: latest on US POW reparations claim

Iraq: latest on US POW reparations claim

17 former American POWs in Iraq in 1991 have gone to the US Supreme Court to try and hold the new Iraq legally responsible for torture they recieved under Saddam and pay almost $1bn in compensation. The Supreme Court has given the US Justice Department, which represents the U.S. government in the case, until March 21 to respond.

In a written statement to Military Times ( http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-667424.php), the Justice Department said: “Following regime change in Iraq, the United States took steps to restore that country’s foreign sovereign immunity. These actions were designed to facilitate the prompt and orderly reconstruction of Iraq, which is vital to peace and stability in the Middle East. These actions do not prevent the … plaintiffs — or any other victims of Saddam Hussein’s despotic regime — from seeking reparations through appropriate international tribunals once the new Iraqi government is firmly established. To the contrary, such claims are specifically contemplated by a United Nations Security Council resolution secured by the United States."

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