US Congress 9/11 law exasperates Saudi Arabia

A U.S. law allowing lawsuits against Saudi Arabia over the Sept. 11 attacks met a stony silence from Riyadh on Thursday but some Saudis bristled, saying the kingdom could curb business and security ties in response to an ally's perceived affront.

The Senate and House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve legislation that will allow the families of those who died in the 2001 attacks in New York to seek damages from the Saudi government. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that the bill would set "a dangerous precedent" that could put US troops and interests at risk. "If we eliminate this notion of sovereign immunity, then our men and women in uniform around the world could potentially start seeing ourselves subject to reciprocal loss," Obama said during a interview on CNN.

The Saudi government financed an extensive lobbying campaign against the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act", or JASTA, in the run-up to the vote, and warned it would undermine the principle of sovereign immunity.

But Saudi officials stopped short of threatening any retaliation if the law was passed. The long-standing alliance between the kingdom and the United States is one of the cornerstones of the Middle East's politics, security and trade, and in their reactions on Thursday some Saudis said JASTA would jeopardize what they see as an interdependent relationship.

"What would happen if Saudi Arabia froze its cooperation with the United States with regards to counter-terrorism as a response to JASTA?" Salman al-Dosary, editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab, Saudi-owned Al Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, wrote on Twitter.

Some analysts argue the Al Saud ruling family will interpret the move as political expedience by lawmakers in a U.S. election season and that the chances of a successful lawsuit are uncertain at best. But the measure does nothing to ease long-standing friction in the alliance: President Barack Obama, who had vetoed JASTA but was overridden by Congress, is increasingly seen by the kingdom and fellow Gulf Arab as favoring their bitter rival Iran, a charge Washington denies, and differs with Riyadh over Syria and other Arab crises. "This bill reflects an anti-Saudi campaign. It is time to see less of America in our midst," said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political scientist in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Some analysts have speculated that Riyadh could retaliate by curbing U.S. trade with the biggest Arab economy or restrict cooperation on security, a crucial relationship for U.S. counter-terrorism and for peace efforts in Arab conflicts. It is also speculated that bilateral trade and investment could be hurt. The kingdom owns $96.5 billion of U.S. Treasury bonds, and is believed to hold at least that sum in other U.S. assets and bank accounts.