(Washington, DC) - Congressman Gary L. Ackerman (D-Queens/L.I.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, joined a bipartisan effort today to provide compensation to the families of the 12 American employees killed in the August 7, 1998 Al Qaeda attack in Nairobi.  The legislation (H.R. 2828) is designed to provide closure for these families nine years after this tragic terrorist attack.

“The State Department had full knowledge of the dangers of this post, and yet did not disclose this information to its own employees.  This negligence resulted in the worst possible outcome, and it is time for Congress to fix these gross wrongs,” said Ackerman.

The intelligence community had been surveilling several Al Qaeda associates in Nairobi for two years.  The State Department dismissed warnings of the danger to the embassy and failed to give notice to the diplomats stationed there.  Although the State Department grants “danger pay” at dangerous posts, no such compensation was granted to the victims or their families in Nairobi.
 

###

Return to Gary's Homepage