First, congratulations President Obama, our military, our intelligence agencies and America for a Mission Accomplished—accomplished so brilliantly.
But now to the $25 million question.
As we well remember, in our anguish and fury following the dastardly September 11 attacks, the U.S. State Department offered a $25 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Osama Bin Laden.
According to The Republic, “Frustrated that bin Laden had not been caught, Congress in November 2004 doubled the prize for information. But there’s no evidence that the State Department ever advertised the $50 million available for bin Laden tips.”
Also, the Air Transport Association and the Air Line Pilots Association each offered $1 million.
At the State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” web site, “Seeking Information Against International Terrorism,” one can still see “Usama bin Ladin’s” mug shot; one can still see the “Up to $25 Million reward” offer; one can still see the terrorist’s vital statistics; and one can still see why the villain is wanted:
Usama bin Ladin is wanted in connection with the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and for [a list of other acts of terrorism.]
However, today, May 2, 2011, the most pertinent—the only pertinent—piece of information on the profile page for the world’s most wanted man is one word: “Deceased.”
Established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, the Rewards for Justice Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
The Department claims that the program “continues to be one of the most valuable U.S. Government assets in the fight against international terrorism”:
Since the inception of the Rewards for Justice program in 1984, the United States Government has paid more than $100 million to over 60 people who provided actionable information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. The program played a significant role in the arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
According to The Republic, the reward for Bin Laden’s arrest was advertised heavily in Pakistan. “From matchbooks bearing bin Laden’s image to leaflets dropped out of military airplanes to newspaper, radio and television advertisements, notice of the cash reward was spread far and wide.”
“But as years passed without bin Laden’s capture, the program faced heavy criticism. It has been described as an ineffective tool against al Qaeda and blamed with flooding intelligence agents with hundreds of flimsy leads,” says The Republic.
The State Department makes it sound quick and easy to claim and receive such an award: “Anyone who provides actionable information that will either help us prevent or favorably resolve acts of international terrorism against the U.S. anywhere in the world may potentially be eligible for a reward.”
But the actual collection process is anything but quick and easy:
Either a U.S. investigating agency, such as the Department of Defense or the FBI, or a U.S. embassy abroad, must first nominate a person for a reward. An interagency committee then carefully evaluates the information. If the Interagency Rewards Committee believes an individual is eligible for a reward, it recommends that the Secretary of State approve a reward.
The recommendation of the Committee, however, is not binding. The Secretary of State has complete discretion over whether or not to authorize a given reward, and can change the amount of the reward, within the terms of the law.
If there is a federal criminal jurisdiction in the matter, the Secretary requests the concurrence of the Attorney General before paying the reward.
And then:
Reward payment amounts are based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the threat posed by a given terrorist, the severity of the danger or injury to U.S. persons or property, the value of the information provided, the risk faced by a source and his/her family, and the degree of a source’s cooperation in an investigation or trial.
Although the State Department claims that the program has been instrumental in the arrest of terrorists and that, since its inception, it has paid “more than $100 million to over 60 individuals for information that prevented international terrorist attacks or helped bring to justice those involved in prior acts,” it is not clear yet whether the lure of such a huge reward played a role in locating and eliminating Osama Bin Laden. If one or more informants played a role, it is also highly unlikely that we will ever know their identity.
If a reward is eventually authorized, I would not be surprised if the Rewards for Justice Program quietly provides “a classified report to Congress after a payment has been made.”
We may never know if a reward was claimed or made. But the one thing we know for sure tonight is that the man directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans is officially “Deceased.”
For this American, that’s good enough
Osama Bin Laden’s mug shot, courtesy Rewards for Justice Program
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.