[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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