WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- A federal judge in New York Wednesday awarded damages against the government of Iraq after ruling that the families of two victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings had shown "albeit barely" that Iraq had provided material support to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.
Judge Harold Baer ruled that the two families were entitled to $104 million compensation from Iraq, bin Laden, al-Qaida, the Taliban movement and their government of Afghanistan. He had entered a default judgment against these defendants on Dec. 23, 2002, after they failed to show up to contest the case.
But he dismissed the families' suit against deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on the basis that -- as head of state -- he enjoyed absolute immunity.
Lawyers for the two families said they would attempt to recover the money from the $1.7 billion in Iraqi assets frozen in the United States, and victims' relatives involved in a separate lawsuit against the Saudi government said it was an important precedent.
Baer, in a written decision released Wednesday by the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, said that the standard of proof required for the case was much lower than that in a normal civil action, because the defendants did not contest the case.
Even so, he said that the families had only scraped over the evidential bar, referred to in a quotation from the relevant legislation as "evidence satisfactory to the court."
"Plaintiffs have shown, albeit barely, 'by evidence satisfactory to the court' that Iraq provided material support to bin Laden and al-Qaida."
Baer said that most of the evidence the families had tried to introduce -- such as TV interviews with unidentified Iraqi defectors -- was "classically hearsay" or even "multiple hearsay" -- second or third hand. He said his decision was based only on the opinion testimony of the families' two expert witnesses, former CIA Director James Woolsey Jr., and author Laurie Mylroie.
"I think that in many respects, al-Qaida acts as a front for Iraqi intelligence ... Iraq provides the direction, the training and the expertise," Mylroie told the court.
Woolsey was more circumspect. "I believe it is definitely more likely than not that some degree of common effort in the sense of aiding and abetting or conspiracy was involved (in the Sept. 11 attacks) between Iraq and al-Qaida," he said.
It remained unclear how much money the families might actually receive, attorney Slade McLaughlin told United Press International.
"Although the president has recently indicated he's earmarked that ($1.7 billion in frozen assets) to help rebuild Iraq, he did set aside $300 million to pay any judgments outstanding against the old government there," he said.
He added that $118 million of that had been paid out recently to the so-called "human shields" from the 1991 Gulf War, and that he hoped to be able to secure the whole $104 million for his clients from the remainder "in short order."
McLaughlin said he hoped President Bush would be sympathetic to their appeal, "because we're the first people to prove what he's been saying all along -- that Iraq was involved in Sept. 11."
Michael Dempsey, who was injured whilst evacuating the second tower and represents a group of victims and their families who are suing the Saudi government in a separate case, told UPI the case was a "symbolic precedent," and said he was encouraged by the result.
"My concern," he said, "is how to collect on the judgment."
Lawyers said the case might create a wave of litigation against the former Iraqi regime.
"A lot depends on what happens with our attempts to get paid," said McLaughlin. "A lot of people will have their interest piqued if we get paid ... If we're not successful -- and I do think we will get paid -- but if we don't, I think that will discourage people."
The case was brought by relatives on behalf of the estates of George Eric Smith, a senior business analyst for SunGard Asset Management, and Timothy Soulas, a senior managing director and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities.
