[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 133 (Thursday, November 18, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11482-S11483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         JUSTICE FOR MARINE CORPS FAMILIES VICTIMS OF TERRORISM

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I seek recognition to describe 
legislation that I plan to introduce in the 109th Congress. I have been 
asked to pursue this legislation on behalf of the 158 families of the 
brave servicemen who died when the terrorist faction Hezbollah--with 
the support of the Government of Iran--sent a suicide bomber into the 
Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23, 1983, killing 
241 U.S. servicemen--18 sailors, 3 soldiers, and 220 Marines.
  This legislation will provide an explicit private right of action for 
United States citizens against state sponsors of terrorism in our 
Federal courts, and will ultimately allow victims of such acts to 
collect court-ordered damages against state-sponsors of terrorism. The 
specific provisions of the legislation have been drafted to harmonize 
existing statutory law with the recent direction of the District of 
Columbia circuit in Cicippio-Puleo v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 353 
F.3d 1024 (D.C. Cir. 2004), which held that ``neither 28 U.S.C. 
Sec. 1605(a)(7) nor the Flatow Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign 
Immunities Act . . ., nor the two considered in tandem, creates a 
private right of action against a foreign government.'' 353 F.3d 1024, 
1032-33 (D.C. Cir. 2004).
  In 1996, I supported the legislation that ultimately was enacted into 
the statutes that I have just cited. These statutes have been 
interpreted by the D.C. Circuit in Cicippio-Puleo to provide the 
following:
  No. 1, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1605(a)(7) provides an exception to sovereign 
immunity for state sponsors of terrorism and permits Federal courts to 
hear claims seeking money damages for personal injury or death against 
such nations and arising from terrorist acts they commit, or direct to 
be committed, against American citizens or nationals outside of the 
foreign state's territory; and No. 2, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1605(a)(7)(note), 
also known as the ``Flatow Amendment,'' named for New Jersey student 
Alisa Flatow, who was killed when Palestinian Islamic Jihad bombed a 
Gaza bus on which she was riding, imposes liability upon an official, 
employee, or agent of a foreign state that is designated as a state 
sponsor of terrorism, only if that official, employee or agent is 
acting in their ``official capacity.''
  On October 23, 2004, in Philadelphia, I was privileged to take part 
in a memorial service held in honor of the servicemen killed in the 
1983 Beirut attack. Some of the family members of those killed attended 
the event. Their moving comments about how they have been denied the 
ability to seek legal redress, despite clear findings implicating 
Hezbollah and Iran in the attacks, were both poignant and persuasive. 
It is vitally important to victims' families that they have a private 
right of action against the state sponsor itself, not just its 
officials, employees or agents acting in their official capacity. These 
victims and their families deserve not simply a day in court, but also 
the ability to recover damages against terrorist states that commit, 
direct, or materially support terrorist acts against American citizens 
or nationals. The former, in isolation, is a hollow right--in legal 
terms, a right without a remedy. The D.C. Circuit in Cicippio-Puleo 
tells us that only Congress can provide such a remedy. That is my 
intent.
  I ask unanimous consent that the October 23, 2004, remarks by Lynn 
Smith Derbyshire, the sister of deceased Marine CPT Vincent Smith and a 
leader of the families advocating for this legislation, be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Remarks of Lynn Smith Derbyshire, Beirut Memorial Services, Oct. 23, 
                                  2004

       We are here today to honor the men who died in Beirut, 
     Lebanon on this day 21 years ago. As families, we believe 
     that our first duty is to remember. Thank you for coming to 
     help us commemorate the lost.
       As you know, in 1996 Congress passed legislation that gave 
     victims of state sponsored terrorism, and their families, the 
     right to sue those nations in a United States Court. This 
     legislation did two things: It gave us a path to pursue 
     justice and compensation, and it provided a way to hold rogue 
     nations accountable for their crimes, and thereby deter more 
     terrorism. The problem with the existing legislation, 
     however, is that it has loopholes. And the U.S. Government is 
     using these loopholes to continually torpedo the efforts of 
     the families to collect damages, and penalize terrorist 
     states.
       On October 23, 1983--21 years ago today--Hezbollah, at the 
     behest of the government of Iran, sent a suicide bomber into 
     the Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. 
     servicemen.
       One of the young Marines who was killed that day was a 
     blond, blue-eyed, bowlegged helicopter pilot, named Captain 
     Vincent Smith. He had just turned 30. He had a wife named 
     Ana, a 3-year-old son named Ian, and dog named Whiskey. Vince 
     had a penchant for practical jokes, an infectious laugh and a 
     contagious grin. He sang in the church choir with his velvety 
     tenor voice, he loved to water-ski, and throw the football 
     with his brothers on crisp fall afternoons--like this one, 
     and have cookouts on the deck with his friends.
       Vince was my brother. He was my protector, my confidant, 
     and my friend. And I loved him deeply. Twenty-one years after 
     his death there is still a hole in my heart and in my life, 
     and in my family. I miss him more every day.
       I have learned over the past 21 years that one does not 
     ``get over'' the murder of a brother. Whoever said that time 
     heals wounds was an idiot--and whoever said that never had a 
     wound like this. My wound cannot completely heal, because 
     every time there is another terrorist attack, the hole in my 
     heart is ripped open again:
       The U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the Achille Lauro, the murder 
     of Robert Stetham of TWA flight 847, Khobar Towers in Saudi 
     Arabia, the U.S.S. Cole, Madrid, and even this morning, a car 
     bomb outside of Baghdad killed 10 and wounded 42.
       And who here can ever forget that fateful day: September 
     11, 2001.
       One after the next, after the next, these events have 
     sliced open my scar-tissued heart, and I must grieve the 
     brother I loved so dearly over and over again. All of these 
     events bring me to my knees. And when I am on my knees I pray 
     for justice--not revenge--justice.
       I do not want vengeance. I do not want the sisters and 
     mothers of young vibrant Iranian soldiers to have to weep at 
     the closed casket of their brothers and sons as I did, 
     knowing that his body is not even whole inside the box. I do 
     not want anyone to discover as I have that this kind of grief 
     is an incessant pain-and it hurts all over. I would not wish 
     the last 21 years of agonizing sorrow on a rabid dog. No. I 
     do not want vengeance.
       But I do want justice. And I do want the terrorism to stop.
       In March 2003, the Beirut families brought suit against the 
     country of Iran for the murder of our beloved brothers and 
     sons and fathers and husbands. We proved in a court of law, 
     that Hezbollah was carrying out the direct will of the 
     Iranian government. Iran is guilty of the murder of my 
     brother, and of

[[Page S11483]]

     Freas Kreischer's son, and Shirla Maitland's brother.
       That day in court was a moral victory for us. There was a 
     tremendous sense of relief to finally be able to name the 
     guilty party. But it's a hollow victory if Iran is not 
     somehow held accountable. Terrorists continue to terrorize 
     because they can. We have not held them accountable for their 
     crimes, and so they laugh and build more bombs. There has 
     been no justice, so there can be no healing.
       And it is galling that my own government continues to allow 
     Iran to get away with murder--literally.
       It's a simple rule: one that the parent of any small child 
     can grasp. If your child hits another child with a stick, you 
     have to take the stick away, and give your child 
     consequences. If there are no consequences, the child will 
     keep hitting kids with sticks, because he has figured out 
     that it gives him power.
       I want the cruelty and senselessness of terrorism to stop. 
     And there is only one way to do that. We have to take away 
     the stick. There must be consequences.
       Senator Specter, thank you for introducing a bill that will 
     finally allow families like mine and Freas Kreishcher's and 
     Shirla Maitland's, to pursue rogue nations in the courts and 
     to threaten them by threatening their assets. Their Achilles 
     heel is financial. If we take away enough of their money, 
     they will not be able to afford to build more bombs. And then 
     perhaps you will be spared the agony of losing your brother 
     or your son. If that happens, perhaps this gaping, bleeding 
     wound in my heart will finally be able to heal.
       Senator Specter, I want to thank you, on behalf of the 
     families of the Marine Corps Barracks, Beirut bombing 
     victims, for coming to our aid. Thank you for being willing 
     to champion our cause in the Congress by sponsoring this 
     bill. And Senator, I urge you to do everything in your power 
     to enact this bill into law with the utmost haste.
       Thank you very much, sir.

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