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American Morning
Information on the Rewards for Justice Program
Aired December 14, 2001 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Osama bin Laden already has a $25 million price on his head, now the State Department is launching a new offensive in its Rewards for Justice program. It's a campaign with a clear message, you can make a difference in fighting terrorism. So just how effective is the program likely to be?
Well joining us now, David Carpenter, Assistance Secretary of State of Diplomatic Security and Joseph Rutledge, co-founder of the Rewards for Justice Fund.
Welcome, gentlemen, good to have you with us this morning.
DAVID CARPENTER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you, good to be here.
ZAHN: So, David, how effective do you think this program will be?
CARPENTER: Well, the program itself has been in effect since 1984. In the past seven years, we have paid out over $8 million to 22 different individuals for information. The reality is that rewards work when you can get information to people about the program and who to contact and what kind of information we're looking for.
ZAHN: So, Joseph, are you aware of anybody over the last several weeks giving the U.S. any useful information about Osama bin Laden?
JOSEPH RUTLEDGE, REWARDS FOR JUSTICE FUND: Well, the number of Americans who have contacted www.rewardsfund.org has been overwhelming. All information, however, is -- passes directly through to the State Department and of course it remains confidential and anonymous. We are in the business primarily of inviting Americans to take advantage of the opportunity to provide their own personal dollars to supplement the federal funds that are used to provide these reward payments that have proven so effective in bringing terrorists to Justice which, of course, is as simple as logging onto www.rewardsfund.org.
ZAHN: So, David, I guess the question I have for you is given how thin the alliances are in Afghanistan, we've heard these stories about how quickly warlords will change alliances for some big bucks. In the end, how much of a lure is $25 million? If someone was going to bite, wouldn't they have bitten on already? CARPENTER: Well one has to understand that a reward is only a tool. There are a lot of tools that are being applied toward al Qaeda, bin Laden and his -- and his folks. So to expect that a reward is in and of itself the silver bullet that's going to cause someone to step forward and turn him in or provide information about his whereabouts is -- it's not a guarantee.
ZAHN: And, Joseph, for the folks who haven't had a chance to see the ads, we're going to put a full screen up now to give them an idea of how you're trying to get people interested in the program. And the ad basically shows a full screen picture of Mohamed Atta, who slammed one of those planes into the World Trade Center, and it has the headline, as you can see here, that tells the public to pay attention. It basically says you could have stopped this man. Do you really think that could have happened?
RUTLEDGE: Well, you know, the fact of the matter is is that there are millions of Americans who want to do something to help prevent futures acts of terrorism. And the Rewards program has proven effective in dozens of cases around the world. And if these additional dollars that the Rewards Fund is attempting to raise stop even a single act of terrorism, then it would be well -- have been well worth the effort.
ZAHN: Finally, question for you, David, if someone just gives you a little piece of information, is it possible that's worth $2 million and not $25 million?
CARPENTER: Well the decision on what information is worth is made by committee. There -- the State Department chairs a committee that's comprised of members of the NSC, FBI, Department of Justice and CIA. They make a recommendation to the Secretary of State as to what that information was worth, that a reward be offered. The Secretary of State confers with the attorney general and then the final decision is made.
ZAHN: Well, gentlemen, we appreciate both of you coming along to help us better understand the Rewards for Justice program. Good luck to you.
And we want to point out that Web site you mentioned. If you all need more information on the Rewards Fund, the address is www.rewardsfund -- that's one word -- and then .org.
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