With the first lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who lost his life on 9/11, JASTA’s legal saga begins. Even if a number of these lawsuits are filed in the coming weeks, the attorney general can delay for 6 months or more these suits from even being fully considered in court.
This critically gives time for members of Congress after the presidential elections to take up an amendment to the bill in November or December to either completely gut JASTA of its potency or narrow the bill to purely 9/11 cases, preserving the sovereign immunity more broadly. Congress could also give the secretary of state the power to indefinitely stay these cases without court review.

Amending JASTA
While it’s not guaranteed that Congress will pass such an amendment, this move is arguably the best opportunity to quickly snuff the life out of this misplaced, poorly thought-out piece of legislation which both endangers US interests and its citizens globally.
It also critically is an opportunity to dam the floodgate of conspiratorial lawsuits, which could spring up worldwide against the US as a result of Congress foolishly bulldozing the norm of “sovereign immunity.”
It would also be an opportunity to backstop this punch in the gut to US-Saudi relations. For all intents and purposes, those who voted for the bill weren’t doing so because of “sovereign immunity” but because of the pervasive myth that Saudi Arabia was a state sponsor of terrorism and this is an avenue for justice for 9/11 families.
It also was politically too costly for many members of Congress to stand in the way.
While this bill’s passage including its wording falls squarely on Congress’ ineptitude, Obama’s failure to actively derail this bill’s support in Congress (waiting too late to bring members of the administration to warn the Senate and the House of its consequences) made the bill’s passage and his veto’s override much easier.
The president failed to use his bully pulpit to educate the public of this bill’s consequences and to directly push back on Senate Democrats who spearheaded it.
Obama has an important opportunity before leaving office to actively push Congress to consider a sensible amendment.

A Judicial End
Even if the current session of Congress fails to act this year, the attorney general’s request for a 180-day stay will delay a court from fully hearing this case until after a new president takes office in 2017.
At that point, the president’s attorney general could also ask for an additional 180-day stay. Such a request will likely be granted to allow the new administration to address the suit’s case with the Saudi government. Almost a year then after JASTA became law; a court can reasonably hear these suits.
Even then, JASTA will likely be appealed to first an appellate circuit court and then ultimately the Supreme Court for consideration.
Such a lengthy process means that it will be early 2018 or so (if the bill is not declared unconstitutional during that period) before a lawsuit goes back to lower court to be heard. The floodgates may have been opened but no water will rush out for more than a year or so.
Even if JASTA survives an appeal process, the interpretation of the bill will likely be so narrowly defined that winning a lawsuit would be quite difficult.

Warning Bell
JASTA’s likely Congressional or judicial demise is important to stress to temper those who may wish to use this as an opportunity to push for the rupture of the US-Saudi strategic partnership and to preclude opportunities to deepen economic ties between the two countries.
However, this shouldn’t be a moment for complacency either. JASTA underscores the deepening challenges facing the relationship between Washington and Riyadh.
Both a number of members of Congress and large segments of the American public are deeply skeptical of the present state of partnership and this will harm Riyadh’s interests. Deeper engagement is critically needed.
A new US president also has an opportunity to reset this relationship and rebuild trust. President Clinton or Trump should make a renewed effort to argue the case for its allies with skeptics at home. Washington also needs Riyadh as a partner as it navigates the deepening challenges in the region.
JASTA, more so than any lawsuit comes from it, is a warning bell for Washington and Riyadh that the relationship is in danger and new investment is needed.
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Andrew J. Bowen, Ph.D. is a Global Fellow in the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

SOURCE:   http://www.arabnews.com/node/993471/columns