25 September 1998
(Bergin vows to stop future acts, bring terrorists to justice) (3340) Washington -- "The Counter Terrorism Rewards Program is not a panacea for peace of prosperity. But it is a very important weapon in our arsenal for reducing the threat of international terrorism," says Peter E. Bergin, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service at the Department of State. In a September 14 speech to the American Society for Industrial Security in Dallas, Texas, Bergin outlined three objectives of the Rewards program: -- "We offer up to 2 million dollars for a non-airline related incident, and up to 4 million dollars for an airline related incident for information that prevents an act of terrorism." -- "We use the Rewards Program to gain information to arrest terrorists who have committed acts against Americans or American interests. Two notorious terrorists have been brought to justice as a result of our activities. They are: Ramsi Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing, and Mir Amal Kasi, who murdered two and wounded three people outside CIA headquarters in 1993." -- "The third objective of the Rewards Program is to let the public know of the U.S. Government's commitment to continue the fight against international terrorism. We want innocent victims, like the 5,000 injured Kenyans, and friendly governments to know we will use this program to counter the terrorist threat on a continuing basis, regardless of the politics." Bergin said rewards have been offered for several unsolved incidents, some dating back as far as 13 years, including: -- the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103; -- the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center; -- the June 1996 bombing of a multi-national peacekeeping force in Saudi Arabia; -- the November 1997 murders of four American employees of Union Texas Petroleum and their Pakistani, driver in Karachi, and -- the August 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Last week, Bergin announced a worldwide publicity effort and a $2 million reward for capture of Haroun Fazil, who is wanted in connection with the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa. "We, at Diplomatic Security, have long memories and long reach, and we intend to use them with the Rewards Program to stop future incidents against Americans as well as bring to justice those who have committed these acts of terrorism," Bergin asserted. Following is the text of Bergin's remarks: (Begin Text) Good Afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. I'd like to tell you a little about how your Diplomatic Security Service manages our country's Counter-Terrorist Rewards Program, and perhaps explore how we can work together in the future to make the world a little safer. During the course of my remarks, I will be referring to HEROES. Americans understand "HEROES" -- Sgt. York, Neil Armstrong, Charles Lindbergh. But every now and then, up pops an unknown, one that all of us can identify with. Sure, Mark McGwire is a hero. But who can hit one out, much less 62? Well, in all this hullabaloo in St. Louis, up popped every man's hero. Imagine...up to 2 million dollars to the person who caught home run ball 62 and sold it. But the groundskeeper that night who caught it brought it to home plate and gave it to mighty Mac. And his reward -- 15 seconds in the sun, a couple of autographed balls, jerseys, and bats, and a shared place in history. He's the kind of hero we're after -- a person of courage, a person of conviction. If he or she turns in a terrorist or helps us prevent an act of terrorism, we'll give that person 2 million dollars -- and, not only that, it will be tax free! Your Diplomatic Security Service is part of the United States Department of State. We are a unique group of about 1,000 security, law enforcement and intelligence specialists located at embassies and consulates worldwide as well as offices around the U.S. What do we do? We protect the Secretary of State around the clock. We protect foreign dignitaries below the rank of head of state who visit the U.S. We protect American diplomats living abroad. We share threat information with American businesses overseas. We investigate passport and visa fraud. We often consider ourselves guardian angels for Americans on the go because of our many duties throughout the globe. Your Diplomatic Security Service also manages the U.S. Government's Counter Terrorist Rewards Program. This program was established by Congress in 1984. The Rewards Program is not a panacea for peace or prosperity. But it is a very important weapon in our arsenal for reducing the threat of international terrorism. The program focuses solely on international acts of terrorism committed against Americans or American property outside the U.S. It can also be used for acts of internationally sponsored terrorism inside the U.S. For a little piece of history, after the bombing of Pan Am 103, Congress increased the maximum reward to $2 million. Following Pan Am 103, the Air Transport Association and the Air Line Pilots Association offered to add up to one million dollars each when an American airliner is targeted by terrorists. The program has been a very effective tool for the taxpayer and the government since its beginning. The first thing the Counter Terrorist Rewards Program does is stop a lot of bangs with a buck. As I said earlier, we offer up to 2 million dollars for a non-airline related incident, and up to 4 million dollars for an airline related incident for information that prevents an act of terrorism. Each downed airliner costs insurers, the airlines, and related parties over $110 million in property losses alone. We think spending up to 2 million dollars to save an airliner with over 100 American lives is a wise and pretty important investment. During Desert storm in 1991, an informant in an East Asian country came forward with alarming news about a series of terrorist attacks planned by the Iraqi intelligence service, The terrorists had already surveyed their intended targets, acquired automatic weapons, grenades and high explosives. The attacks had been planned and scheduled. One of the attacks involved the bombing and strafing of ticket counters at a major airport within the next 48 hours. With the details supplied by the informant, the terrorists were stopped before they could act. Had the terrorists succeeded, scores of innocent Americans and others would have been murdered. The informant in this case was paid a substantial reward and relocated under the rewards program. The second thing we do with the program is that we bag'em with a buck. We use the Rewards Program to gain information to arrest terrorists who have committed acts against Americans or American interests. Two notorious terrorists have been brought to justice as a result of our activities. They are: Ramsi Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing, and Mir Amal Kasi, who murdered two and wounded three people outside CIA headquarters in 1993. They are in jail today, in part, because of our promotion of specific awards through innovations, such as, multi-language matchbooks, flyers and lottery tickets. We are constantly advertising for information about specific acts of terrorism in newspapers, posters, and other media. The third objective of the Rewards Program is to let the public know of the U.S. Government's commitment to continue the fight against international terrorism. We want innocent victims, like the 5,000 injured Kenyans, and friendly governments to know we will use this program to counter the terrorist threat on a continuing basis, regardless of the politics. We also think there is some diversionary effect in just having the program. We believe some terrorists may actually think twice because this program exists. The offer of the Rewards Program has been consistent throughout the past 14 years. We offer three things in exchange for information that either stops an act of terrorism or brings a terrorist to justice. First, we offer money, up to 2 or 4 million dollars; second, we offer absolute confidentiality; and third, we offer the possibility of relocation for the informer and their family. Throughout the history of the program, we have paid out a total of about 5 million dollars on over 20 cases, averted several incidents, and brought several major terrorists to justice. Perhaps the best example of our work on behalf of the taxpayers that I can discuss with you today is the arrest in Pakistan in 1995 of Ramsi Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing. Yousef came to the U.S. prior to the bombing of the World Trade Center and managed the manufacturing and placement of the bomb. He left the U.S. about the same time that the bomb exploded and continued his planning to create additional terrorists acts. For its part, the Diplomatic Security Service created an awareness program on this incident, and placed reward notices with Yousef's photograph in several languages to include Arabic and Urdu. We used flyers, matchbooks and ads to distribute our reward offer in countries we suspected Yousef of using for hideaways. Sometime later, an informant appeared with one of our reward offers and pinpointed Yousef's location. He was apprehended in Pakistan by local authorities and DSS agents. At the time he was taken into custody, Yousef had ongoing plans and a network established to assassinate the Pope and simultaneously blow up six U.S. airliners over the Pacific on the same day. Yousef is now serving a life sentence in a federal-prison. Needless to say, the program is well worth the effort and money we put into it. Some of you may be wondering how we sort out the good information from the bad. And, ultimately, how sure are we that the reward money is not being wasted. We have informants with whom we deal on a daily basis all over the world. As you might imagine, we receive some pretty interesting information and there are a lot of scam artists and fabricators out there. In the end, however, when we pay a reward, it means that a terrorist act has been prevented, or a bad guy or guys are facing justice for their acts. I can assure you that the process is thorough and is a result of the combined efforts of your intelligence and law enforcement communities. If you are wondering how rewards are determined, I chair a committee consisting of a number of federal agencies that identifies reward candidates and then recommends specific rewards to the Secretary of State. This committee serves as the forum for discussion on many aspects of the Rewards Program, and is comprised of representatives from the White House's National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshals Service Witness Protection Program, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Energy, the Department of State, and others as appropriate. As an example, in a recent rewards committee decision, the committee decided to pay a reward to four individuals ... four HEROES ... who assisted us in the prosecution of three persons responsible for the murder of a U.S. serviceman in another country. Three of these individuals also testified in the U.S. before a federal grand jury. In coming to its final recommendation, the committee looked at the country where the incident occurred, the amount of personal risk the informants put themselves in by cooperating with -- us, and how their cooperation with the U.S. Government influenced their ability to maintain their livelihood. Some of them actually lost their employment and were subjected to threats to their personal safety., Based on all the available information, the rewards committee recommended reward payments that take into consideration all of these factors. We promote our Rewards Program through a wide variety of media. The type of media we use depends on the message we want to broadcast and the audience to be targeted. Let me give you a few examples: We've run full-page ads in Al Hayat, the widest-circulated Arabic daily newspaper. This was used in the letter bomb campaign where 16 letter bombs originating in Egypt were sent to Al Hayat offices, both in the U.S. and in London. Last December, we ran a full-page ad in the International Herald Tribune on the anniversary of Pan Am 103. We've used Charlton Heston and other Hollywood personalities as spokespersons in our multi-language public service announcements campaign for television. And most times, particularly after a terrorist incident, we have benefited from free media coverage of our program. This happens in the major publications, such as USA Today, People Magazine, the Now Yorker, U.S. News and World Report as well as most major city daily newspapers. All the major networks have run stories on the Rewards Program, including in-depth specials like Dateline, and, most recently, CBS Sunday. We are also proud of our website as a tool for advertising rewards. The website was the first of its kind in the areas of security and law enforcement. I'll speak to the value of the website a little bit later. Another clever approach we've used to publicize the Rewards Program is through what we call collateral advertising. It has been very effective for us. We've created multi-language posters, matchbooks, and lottery cards, that carry our message on the street to intended audiences. Within days of the recent bombings in East Africa, we created posters and flyers portraying $20 bills to publicize the fact that we were offering a reward for information. The flyers and matchbooks are "keepers." As an example, in many parts of the world, matches are often an absolute necessity. You have to start a fire to cook and heat your home. Matches are an everyday use item. We have learned that matchbooks are easily passed hand-to-hand. It has been our experience that they get the word out. We have a number of publicity campaigns for a reward offer for several unsolved incidents. Some date back as far as 13 years. They include: The December 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103, and the loss of 259 innocent lives. As many of you know, indictments have been returned on two Libyan intelligence officers for this incident, and we have an active program on them. Our advertising for these men has been important in keeping the U.N. sanctions in force against Libya for this incident. And lest we forget -- two Special Agents of the Diplomatic Security Service were killed in this attack. Another unsolved incident is the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Most of the terrorists are behind bars, but Abdul Rahman Yasin is still at large. Still not solved yet is the June 1996 bombing of a multi-national peacekeeping force in Saudi Arabia. This incident killed 19 people, mostly Americans, and injured hundreds of people. In addition to our $2 million reward, the Saudi Government is offering an additional $3 million. Another unsolved act is the November 1997 murders of four American employees of Union Texas Petroleum and their Pakistani, driver in Karachi. The five men were ambushed on their way to work by terrorists armed with assault rifles. And finally, the August 7, 1998, bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, resulting in the deaths of hundreds and the maiming of thousands of innocents. As you know, several arrests have been made in this case and the investigation continues to unfold. We, at Diplomatic Security, have long memories and long reach, and we intend to use them with the Rewards Program to stop future incidents against Americans as well as bring to justice those who have committed these acts of terrorism. Now let's talk for a minute about what your Diplomatic Security Service can do for you. The Overseas Security Advisory Council, or as we say, OSAC, is a nearly 15-year old cooperative effort between Diplomatic Security and private industry. OSAC has over 1,700 member companies, 21 of whom sit on the board of OSAC. We provide our member companies assistance in the following four areas: -- Trans-national crime; -- Protection of information and technology; -- Security education and awareness; and -- Counter-terrorist counsel and support Your Diplomatic Security Service provides this assistance directly. Our 250 special agents posted overseas, or as they are known, Regional Security Officers, are trained to work with the private sector companies in facilitating OSAC services. The OSAC website can be found at: www.ds.state.gov. To get to the OSAC web page from there, simply click on the OSAC button. Do yourself and your company a favor and check us out. We also maintain an award winning site just for the Rewards Program, www.heroes.net. It was one of the first, if not the first, security/law enforcement web sites. We post all the current reward offers and related information on that site, We invite you to review the site for a variety of background information on who the State Department regards as terrorist organizations, where our offices are located, and how you can contact us. You can e-mail us directly at: bsmithheroes.net. The site is in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. We can also be reached on the HEROES telephone hotline at 1-800-HEROES-1. In case any of you are wondering how a high tech vehicle, such as the web, can aid in counter-terrorist efforts in low tech areas such as the Mid-East, let me tell you a story. We were authorized to post a reward for information about the abduction of Dr. Donald Hutchings, an American who was kidnapped while hiking in Kashmir. Now Kashmir is a pretty remote area halfway around the globe. It doesn't have much in the way of media or Internet access. We posted the offer for information the same day it was authorized and had the offer on the Internet by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. The next morning, by 9:00 a.m., we received an e-mail from a missionary who had just returned from that area. He told us he didn't know anything about Dr. Hutchings, but he had five associate missionaries in the area who would distribute leaflets and matchbooks for us. As it turned out, the Internet was the fastest and best method of communicating the reward offer in Kashmir. Today about one-third of terrorist groups worldwide use the Internet in some fashion, including about a dozen which maintain their own home pages. As you all know, countries are not able to censor the Internet. For us, that means open access to people with a computer in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Iran, and elsewhere. That kind of access for us is invaluable. We can work with you to help you resolve problems through OSAC or our Rewards Program. Please contact our Diplomatic Security Offices in the U.S. or our Regional Security Officers overseas. They can either assist you directly with your problems or direct you to the appropriate agency. If you are wondering who Regional Security Officers are, they are men and women, like you and me, who are trained for security and law enforcement. They go through hotel doors at 3 in the morning with pistol, handcuffs and Pakistani police to arrest Ramsi Yousef, they hike 20 miles through the wilderness in Ecuador on Christmas day to rescue a kidnapped American; or, like Special Agent Brad Smith, who despite his personal battle with the late stages of Lou Gerhig's disease, is at home fighting terrorists by managing our HEROES website. We at Diplomatic Security are proud of our people and what they do for America. I hope someday you will be too. (End text)