However, I have a problem with Miniter saying this in the article:
More than $57 million has been paid to 43 people who provided credible information about the whereabouts of known terrorists since the program's founding in 1984. But little has been paid since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
That statement simply is not true.
Secretary Powell today [8/01/03] approved the payment of a $30 million reward to the individual who provided a critical piece of information that led us to the location of Uday and Qusay Hussein. We are pleased with the results in this case. We are pleased that we were able to pay this reward. It is the largest ever paid under the Rewards for Justice program.
IOW, at least $30 million has been paid since September 11, 200l thru the Rewards For Justice program...$30 million of the total $57 million? I do not consider that 'little'.
Why would Miniter lie about something so readily known to be 'not true'? Or, if he's not lying intentionally, maybe he's just being sloppy? If so, what else is sloppy about the article, I ask myself. When I find such blatant factual errors in an article, I tend to take everything else in the article with a grain of salt.
THE FIRST LINK YOU POSTED HAS ALREADY BEEN REMOVED!
Somebody on State is doing a little CYA--what'd it say?
press releases U.S. Launches Media Campaign For Rewards For Justice Program 01/07/2005
Islamabad - January 7, 2005: As part of the ongoing war against terrorism, the U.S. Department of State has launched a public campaign in Pakistan to promote awareness of the Rewards for Justice Program and urge people to help bring some of the most wanted international terrorists to justice. A leading Pakistani Urdu daily carried the first in a series of newspaper advertisements today. More such advertisements in other newspapers, as well as radio and television, are expected to follow. Similar ads have appeared in publications as far-ranging as The New York Times, Al Hayat, Paris Match, Die Welt, and Pravda.
The campaign was launched under the Rewards for Justice Program, one of the most valuable U.S. Government tools in the fight against international terrorism. Established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, the program is administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
The goal of the Rewards for Justice Program is to bring international terrorists to justice and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States.
Under the program, the Secretary of State may offer rewards up to $25 million for information that prevents, frustrates, or favorably resolves acts of international terrorism against U.S. interests worldwide, or leads to the arrest or conviction, in any country, of terrorists responsible for such acts.
The Program has been an effective tool in the fight against international terrorism.
In the past seven years, the United States has paid more than $57 million in 29 cases to people who have provided credible information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. The program played a significant role in the arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Thousands of lives have been saved as a direct result of the Rewards for Justice Program.
The identity of anyone providing information is kept strictly confidential. People with information should contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate or call 0800-23234.
Miniter's book Shadow War is documented to the point of requiring undivided attention when reading it. Hard to imagine a guy who does good work would get proveably careless. Even in his live interviews I don't catch him spreading obvious BS---which is a high compliment anymore.