Here is a story I think we’ve missed, probably because it’s one of those things that stands out as so ludicrous, so preposterous, so incomprehensible, that when you first hear it, you assume it’s either a joke, or you’ve heard it wrong.
On October 26, a state civil jury sitting in Manhattan found the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey liable for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center (a Port Authority complex). Yes, you read that correctly. In its wisdom, the jury found that the Port Authority was SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT RESPONSIBLE for the bombing, which killed six (including a pregnant woman), injured over a thousand, and caused damages possibly into the billions.
The jury found that the terrorists who constructed the urea nitrate bomb, cased the WTC repeatedly, planted the bomb in a rented van parked in the underground garage, detonated it, sent letters claiming responsibility for their handiwork, and warned (correctly as it turns out) that the attack was just the beginning, were THIRTY-TWO PERCENT RESPONSIBLE for their bombing.
The Port Authority is asking the court to set aside the jury verdict, which could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages once the 400 or so plaintiffs are through. Since that, of course, gets passed along, this means that the citizens of New York and New Jersey would be paying damages for suffering caused by militant Islam’s declaration of war on the U.S. by a bombing that was intended to kill tens of thousands of citizens of New York and New Jersey.
All of our hearts go out to the victims of terror – just as they do to the victims of senseless, brutal crimes. But there is something seriously wrong with a system so obsessed with litigation and deep pockets that it holds Americans accountable for the barbarities of terrorists, and thus pits Americans against Americans during wartime when we should be pulling together against those bent on destroying us.