WEEKEND MEMOS

'Weekend memos' give our editorial writers a chance to express their own opinions, comment on topics they have been writing about, or take a lighter approach. The opinions in 'Memos' do not always follow the Enquirer's editorial positions.

As the war in Iraq winds down, the lawsuit war from Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is heating up. A $1 trillion lawsuit filed mostly against Saudi royals and Saudi financiers triggered a defense motion which may open up more Saudis to discovery. Dallas law firm Baker & Botts, according to Newsweek, argued that their client, Saudi defense minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, as a top official of a foreign government, is immune from any U.S. legal action. The motion derided the 9-11 lawsuit as a "broadside indictment of Saudi government, religion and culture," then admitted Sultan made sizeable regular payments to Islamic charities which are suspected of bankrolling al-Qaida.

Follow the money does seem pretty basic. Earlier this month, the federal panel investigating 9/11 complained that the U.S. government doesn't seem to be "holding the (Saudis') feet to the fire."

More than 500 families of 9/11 victims joined the suit. They say they want accountability and change more than the $1 trillion. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

President Bush and other top U.S. officials have publicly praised the Saudis for their cooperation in the war on terrorism and discouraged 9/11 lawsuits, but privately U.S. counterterrorism experts welcome the lawsuits to press the Saudi ruling family to clamp down harder on charity front groups and clerics preaching anti-American hate.

U.S. law firms defending the Saudis in the lawsuit include some of the priciest. Other top litigators were tempted, but couldn't bring themselves to defend Saudis against 9/11 families.

U.S. authorities are going after terrorist rulers, terrorist camps, terrorist cells, terrorist havens, terrorist clerics, terrorist recruiters. Why not use the courts to go after the financiers, even if it will mostly enrich the lawyers? The initial target was Saudi assets held in the United States. A week after the $1 trillion lawsuit was filed last Aug. 15 in Alexandria, Va., the Saudis pulled $200 billion out of the U.S. economy.

But the courts can still shine light into dark corners, and let the chips - or Riyals - fall where they may.

Tony Lang