Court: Iran Responsible for 19 American Deaths in Khobar Towers

For the first time, an official decision has been made that Iran is responsible for the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia. This is further evidence that Iran is not, as many liberals claim, "all bark and no bite." Iran is not only a place where "Death to America" is openly chanted; it is a place where the slogan is actively implemented:

The Iranian government financed a 1996 terrorist attack that killed 19 Americans in Saudi Arabia and must pay $254 million to the victims' families, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth allows families of the victims of the Khobar Towers bombing to seek their compensation from assets that have been seized from the conservative Islamic regime in Tehran.

Nice use of the term "conservative" by the AP. At least Iran was spared the label "ultraconservative," which the Pope received, as did Newt Gingrich.

Though Lamberth has previously ruled that a survivor of the blast could seek payment from Iran, Friday's ruling was the first time Tehran has been blamed for the deaths of the Americans in the bombing.

"The defendants also provided money, training and travel documents to Saudi Hezbollah members in order to facilitate the attacks," Lamberth wrote....

Lamberth relied heavily on testimony by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who investigated the bombings.

Two Iranian government security agencies and senior members of the Iranian government itself provided funding, training and logistical help to terrorists who carried out the attack on a dormitory that housed U.S. Air Force pilots and staff in Saudi Arabia, Freeh testified.