Supreme Court Declines to Hear POWs' Case

[cyberpj]

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether U.S. prisoners of war who say they were tortured during the 1991 Gulf War should collect a $959 million judgment from Iraq.

The justices let stand a lower court ruling that threw out the lawsuit by the 17 former POWs and 37 family members. That ruling, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year, said Congress never authorized such lawsuits against foreign governments.

The dispute pitted the Bush administration, which argued the money was needed to rebuild Iraq, against former service members.

The decision by the appellate court "runs roughshod over decades of United States dedication to the laws of war, and sends a message to United States military personnel that while they protect their country, their country will not protect them," wrote the National League of POW/MIA Families in a friend-of-the-court filing.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050425/D89MFSFO0.html