Washington, D.C.
The Bush administration is trying to stop 17 Gulf War veterans from collecting on a billion-dollar lawsuit they won against the former government of Saddam Hussein. The former soldiers were captured and tortured in Iraq in 1991. A federal judge ruled last summer that they should receive frozen Iraqi assets as compensation. White House officials have challenged the decision, saying that the money belongs to the Iraqi people, not Saddam, and that it should be used to rebuild the country. “The administration wants $87 billion for Iraq,” said David Eberly, a retired Air Force colonel who was shot down. “The money in our case is just a drop of blood in the bucket.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The marvelous powers of mucusThe Explainer It's snot just a pesky cold symptom
-
What to know about the 'no tax on tips' policyThe Explainer The new bill would make tip income exempt from federal income taxes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
