Re: Family Questions POW Judgment

Date: April 12, 2004

"Sweet family questions POW judgment

By ROGER ADKINS

WASHINGTON, W.Va. - The Wood County parents of a former prisoner of war are mystified by the Bush administration's continued attempts to deny a $1 billion judgment to 17 Americans who were captured and tortured by Iraqis during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Maj. Robert Sweet, a native of Washington, W.Va., is one of the 17 former POWs who sued and won against Saddam Hussein and the former Iraqi government. Sweet's aircraft was shot down in February 1991 and he was captured, tortured and interrogated for an extended period of time.

The lawsuit was filed in April 2002. The 17 former prisoners and family members are named as plaintiffs. They were awarded a default judgment in September 2002 when the Iraqi government did not respond to the suit.

In a development Wednesday in Washington, D.C., the Bush administration urged an appeals court to overturn a judge's order awarding nearly $1 billion in frozen Iraqi assets to the plaintiffs. The panel did not immediately rule on the matter and it is unclear when a ruling will be made.

Robert Sweet's parents, Arthur and Mary Ann Sweet, said they are disappointed the Bush administration is continuing to dishonor the American soldiers who fought and sacrificed for their country.

Mary Ann said she would be even more disappointed if she knew for sure the president was aware of the situation and was allowing the POWs to be denied their judgment.

"I'm hoping that the president does not know about this. I hope he's too busy to know what's going on," Mary Ann said Wednesday.

Justice Department attorney Gregory Katsas said foreign policy interests are at stake, and the POWs' claims should be handled through diplomatic channels rather than the courts, according to The Associated Press.

The administration maintains countless people suffered at the hands of Saddam and plenty will be seeking compensation from the new government, jeopardizing its fragile existence. Once the Iraqi government has more solid footing, the administration believes reparations could be negotiated, the AP reported.

"I guess they just don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry to sue the new country. I just hope they have Iraq's best interests at heart. I do believe that Saddam has his own personal fortune and it could easily come out of that," Mary Ann said.

Stewart Baker, attorney for the POWs, told a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Wednesday that his clients simply want the judgment in their favor upheld to affirm their suffering and allow them to collect at a later time.

Both Mary Ann and Arthur said the entire ordeal has caused them to lose faith in the president and his administration. The Sweets both are Republicans. This situation and the general state of the union may affect their vote in the next election, she said.

"I'm thinking really hard about what I'm going to do. I'm a lifelong Republican. It's very disappointing. I'm going to have to look long and hard it. I'm really concerned bout our priorities and how we're using our military," Mary Ann said.

"Me personally, I'm going to have a tough time in the elections," Arthur said.

The POWs filed the suit under a 1996 law that allows victims to pursue blocked assets if they have won damage awards against foreign governments that sponsor terrorism.

U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts sided with the POWs and ordered payment of $653 million in compensatory damages and $306 million in punitive damages.

The Justice Department stepped in and said the POWs could not have access to any of the $1.7 billion of Iraqi assets frozen in 1990. It argued that President Bush formally seized those assets after the invasion of Iraq last year and that the money would be used for rebuilding the country. Roberts reluctantly agreed that the government had the right to block those funds from being used.

Arthur said if the POWs receive their judgment, a percentage of the award will be used to establish a fund to help future prisoners of war.

"The biggest interest is to try to reduce the mistreatment of POWs in the future," he said.


© 2004 — The Parkersburg News and The Parkersburg Sentinel"