Senate Votes to Increase Bounty for bin Laden to $50 Million
By Julianna Goldman and William Roberts
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate approved doubling to $50 million the reward for information leading to the capture of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The measure, approved 87-1, is an amendment to a $658.8 billion defense authorization measure. Under the proposal, the secretary of state, secretary of defense and the director of national intelligence will submit a classified quarterly report to Congress on progress in capturing bin Laden and other members of al Qaeda.
``Nearly six years after 9/11, the greatest terrorist threat to our country is the leadership of al-Qaeda,'' said North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan. ``What, if anything, has been done to bring to justice Osama bin Laden?''
Al-Qaeda improved its capability in recent years to plan attacks against the West, according to a classified assessment by the U.S. National Counter Terrorism Center prepared this month.
President George W. Bush said yesterday that al-Qaeda poses a serious risk of attacking on U.S. soil as he defended his strategy against terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere.
He said that, when he is out of office, ``I will be able to look in the mirror and know I made decisions based upon principle, not based upon politics.''
Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington after the U.S. accused the Taliban regime of hiding al-Qaeda leaders including bin Laden. The U.S. has about 10,000 soldiers carrying out anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, including the hunt for bin Laden.
``I've always been concerned that we made a profound mistake in going to Iraq instead of keeping our focus on al-Qaeda and Osama bin laden,'' said Democrat Kent Conrad of North Dakota. ``Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, is what attacked us. It was not Iraq led by Saddam Hussein.''
Senator Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican, voted against increasing the bounty. |
