25 Million Dollar Reward might net bin Laden
'He has more to fear from his guards than from U.S. bombs'
11/15/2001
By JIM LANDERS / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON–With Afghanistan's Taliban regime in disarray, the $25 million reward on fugitive Osama bin Laden's head may be the key to his capture, analysts said.
The State Department has offered the reward to anyone who leads U.S. forces to Mr. bin Laden and 13 of his lieutenants thought to be involved in attacks on Americans.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Mr. bin Laden was thought to be still inside Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The reward program is one of several ways U.S. officials are trying to track down Mr. bin Laden or information about his whereabouts. Intelligence operatives, spy satellites, communications intercepts, and other tools are being used to give the military a pathway to his hide-out.
"I would think he has more to fear from his guards than from U.S. bombs," said Stephen Cohen, a senior fellow for foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution. "Osama bin Laden will be viewed as a reward, not as an ally. And a lot of people will find it in their interest to produce a dead Osama bin Laden as opposed to a live one."
The arrest of Mr. bin Laden, the chief suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, would be complicated, however, if he were to cross the Afghan border into Pakistan – setting off a diplomatic and political firestorm.
A Pakistani official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Mr. bin Laden and other leaders of his al-Qaeda network are a "mortal threat to the security of Pakistan" and would be caught and "brought to justice" if they flee Afghanistan.
The official said the border has been sealed and border guards are looking for retreating al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there is a chance Mr. bin Laden could escape. "Life isn't perfect," he said when asked about the possibility.
"Finding handfuls of people is indeed like finding needles in a haystack, and it's a complicated process," the defense chief said. "But because of all the pressure that has been put on across the globe – the drying up of bank accounts, the number of arrests that have been made, the interrogations that have been held, the intelligence that has been gathered – every day we have a better chance of
achieving our goals."
He said U.S. special forces units were keeping an eye on the roads from Kabul to Kandahar for any sign of the al-Qaeda leadership. U.S. bombers, meanwhile, attacked hills and caves between Jalalabad and Kandahar on Wednesday.
Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and other senior coalition leaders vowed Wednesday to press on with the military campaign until Mr. bin Laden and al-Qaeda are crushed or captured.
In London, Mr. Blair released a second dossier describing evidence that Mr. bin Laden and al-Qaeda were behind the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the New York World Trade Center.
More than half of the 19 suicide hijackers involved in the attacks have been traced to the al-Qaeda organization in Afghanistan, Mr. Blair said.
Mr. bin Laden and his lieutenants are among 22 terrorism suspects covered by the State Department's Rewards for Justice program.
Funding for the program was boosted by last month's anti-terrorism legislation from $5 million to a new ceiling, chosen by Secretary of State Colin Powell, of $25 million.
"It may very well be that money will talk at some point," Mr. Rumsfeld said Wednesday.
Information collected in the past has been used to prevent terrorist attacks during the Gulf War and to catch Ramzi Yousef, one of the masterminds of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Before reward money changes hands, a committee including representatives from the FBI, the CIA, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the National Security Council, and the Justice Department will evaluate the information, officials said.
Their recommendation goes to Mr. Powell, who would then discuss the case with Attorney General John Ashcroft before a reward is paid.
Some past recipients have been given new identities and moved to secret locations.
Two Connecticut entrepreneurs who wanted to help the fight against terrorism after Sept. 11 are supporting the reward program with a campaign soliciting private donations.
Scott Case, 31, a founder of Priceland.com, and Joseph Rutledge, 47, an entertainment and media consultant, approached the State Department after agreeing that rewards might help stop future acts of terrorism.
"These guys [the terrorists] are all supported by sympathizers and soldiers," Mr. Case said. "If we can disrupt that chain, by offering cash payments and protection, maybe we can stop this from happening again."
The law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has provided free legal help in getting the private contributions program launched, Mr. Rutledge said.
State Department announcements about the rewards program are distributed in a variety of ways, ranging from matchbook covers in such languages as Arabic and Urdu to Internet websites and U.S. Embassy fliers.
Florida's Legislature joined the campaign by passing a bill on Oct. 30 that allows state residents to buy "United We Stand" license plates. Half the $25 fee would go to the State Department's rewards program, while the other $12.50 would go toward improving security at Florida airports.
Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to sign the bill.
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