Veto override "mistake"; "nothing to do with Saudi Arabia" -- Obama

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (KUNA) -- US President Barack Obama called the Congressional override of his veto on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) a "mistake" late Wednesday, when he took questions in a Town Hall on CNN.
Commonly referred to as the "9/11 bill," the legislation would for the first time allow lawsuits in American courts against state sponsors of terrorist attacks inside the US. The White House has warned that such a law could open the US government to lawsuits for its own actions overseas, and vetoed it last week.
"I understand why [the override] happened. Obviously, all of us still carry the scars and trauma" of the Sep 11 attacks, the president said.
"Frankly, I wish Congress here had done what's hard," because the act sets a "dangerous precedent" for the US, he added. The concept of sovereign immunity would be in jeopardy, Obama warned.
"The concern that I've had is - has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia per se, or my sympathy for 9/11 families," the president said. "It has to do with me not wanting a situation in which we're suddenly exposed to liabilities for all the work that we're doing all around the world." (end) ys.tg