Appeals court overturns award to Acree, other Gulf War POWs
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification #: 2005225105158
Story by Lance Cpl. Renee Krusemark

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 24, 2005) -- More than 13 years after suffering 47 days of beatings at the hands of Saddam Hussein's henchmen, retired Marine Col. Clifford Acree received an update from the U.S. government on how much compensation he'll receive for his hardship:

Nothing.

That's the latest ruling in a lawsuit filed in 2002 by Acree and other Gulf War prisoners of war, several of whom were held at the Abu Ghraib prison - the same prison where American soldiers abused Iraqis 15 months ago.

The striking difference in the two cases of abuse, according to the U.S. government, is that the Iraqi victims deserve compensation, but the American victims from the Gulf War aren't entitled to payments from Iraq.

In setting aside nearly $1 billion awarded to 17 POWs in 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted unanimously for the Bush administration.

"The United States possesses weighty foreign policy interests that are clearly threatened by the entry of judgment for (the POWs) in this case," the appeals court wrote.

On July 17, 1991, Acree was taken prisoner by Iraqi troops and beaten during 47 days of captivity after his OV-10 "Bronco" aircraft was shot down in an air attack designed to force Iraqis out of Kuwait. Several other servicemembers also were taken prisoner and tortured.

In 1996, Congress made it possible for lawsuits to be filed against foreign governments and any nation that supports terrorism. In 2002, Acree and 16 others filed suit against Iraq for the pain and suffering inflicted upon them.

Acree, then a lieutenant colonel, was tortured extensively during his imprisonment after his captors found out his rank. They correctly assumed he had important military information and held mock executions designed to extract it from him. Acree was rendered unconscious during the beatings, but refused to provide information that would hinder American forces.

The case filed for Acree and the other POWs, Acree vs. Republic of Iraq, came before the U.S. District Court, but the case was ignored by Hussein's regime, and the U.S. State Department chose not to take part. However, in July 2003, the judge awarded the POWs $653 million in compensatory damages and assessed $306 million in punitive damages against Iraq.

The celebration for the 17 POWs was cut short when Bush administrative lawyers argued the case be dismissed. The basis for the argument lay in the content of an emergency bill that was passed after the U.S. invaded Iraq. The clause stated that the president was authorized to suspend suits against Iraq punishing the country for invading Kuwait. The president's lawyers also contend the bill allows Bush to remove Iraq, now under U.S. occupation, from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"It seems so strange to have our country fighting us on this," retired Air Force Col. David W. Eberly, the senior officer among the former POWs, was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times.

Government lawyers have refused to discuss a settlement in the case, making the Supreme Court the last resort for the POWs. Lawyers for the POWs have petitioned the court to hear the case, which has been renamed Acree vs. Iraq and the United States.

The Supreme Court gave the Justice Department, which represents the U.S. government in the case, until March 21 to respond to the lawsuit.