Terror funds, part deux

If we’re going to talk about the federal funds disbursed to fight terror in the US, we should also take a look at that weird, underground world of payments for terror tips. Rewards for Justice (motto: We can give you 5 million reasons to stop terrorism), administered by the State Department for the last two decades, ...

608460_TerrorCash5.jpg
608460_TerrorCash5.jpg
Manila, PHILIPPINES: An unidentified US embassy official (R) displays two suitcases containing the reward cash of 500,000 USD from the US Department of State's Rewards for Justice program for the capture of Filipino terror suspect Ahmed Islam Santos at the US embassy in Manila, 31 May 2006, while a poster showing portraits of five wanted terror suspects is posted in the background. Two unidentified civilian Filipino informants received the cash reward during a ceremony witnessed by US Ambassdor Kristi Kenny and Philippine security officials. Santos, founder of the Muslim extremist group Rajah Solaiman Movement, believed to have links with Jemaah Islamiyah, was captured in southern Zamboanga city 26 October 2005. Santos' group have been implicated in the February 2004 bombing of a local ferry where at least 100 Filipinos were killled. AFP PHOTO/ROMEO GACAD (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

If we're going to talk about the federal funds disbursed to fight terror in the US, we should also take a look at that weird, underground world of payments for terror tips. Rewards for Justice (motto: We can give you 5 million reasons to stop terrorism), administered by the State Department for the last two decades, claims to have shelled out more than $62 million over the years for information that has prevented attacks or brought perps to justice.

If we’re going to talk about the federal funds disbursed to fight terror in the US, we should also take a look at that weird, underground world of payments for terror tips. Rewards for Justice (motto: We can give you 5 million reasons to stop terrorism), administered by the State Department for the last two decades, claims to have shelled out more than $62 million over the years for information that has prevented attacks or brought perps to justice.

Two Filipino informants just walked away with a total of $500,000 yesterday for providing information that led to the October arrest of Ahmad Santos, head of a group of Islamic converts who were allegedly behind a 2004 ferry bombing that killed more than 100 in the Philippines. Investigators also believe the group forged links with Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah.

Apparently, when these things are done, the US embassy still goes for the old cash-in-a-suitcase-at-a-press-conference method:

 

ROMEO GACAD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

And here’s the handoff: 

 

ROMEO GACAD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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