'Faces of Global Terrorism' posters adorn airports
CBC News | Posted: December 19, 2006 5:41 PM | Last Updated: December 19, 2006
Authorities in the U.S. have plastered an unusual holiday decoration in airports, including in Canada — a poster featuring the mug shots of 26 "known terrorists."
The"Faces of Global Terrorism" posters tell air travellers that the United States will pay up to $25 million US for information that prevents an act of extremism or leads to the arrest of a person involved in an act of extremism against American people or property.
"They can be stopped. We'll pay you for your help," says the poster, which the U.S. State Department says is the first of its kind.
The posters are on display at the Ottawa International Airport, but only in view of travellers who have gone through U.S. customs. The U.S. State Department sent them out in early Decemberto airports in U.S. cities, including New York, Houston, Kansas City, Mo.,Newark, N.J., Sacramento, Calif.,and Washington, D.C.
James Lewis, the director of the Washington-based Center for Strategic Intelligence Studies, said the posters are meant not only to remind travellers that the United States is searching for these extremists — but also to provide the public with identifying information.
"I guess the theory is if you raise sensitivity, if you raise awareness, if people have a rough idea what the picture is, you increase your odds of catching someone," he told CBC News.
'I guess the theory is if you raise sensitivity, if you raise awareness, if people have a rough idea what the picture is, you increase your odds of catching someone.' —James Lewis of the Center for Strategic Intelligence Studies
"You probably don't increase them very much but it's probably worth a try."
The photos are accompanied by a column of text that describes the men as "known terrorists" wanted for crimes against the U.S.
The photos includeOsama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda leaders who were both implicated in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.
"These people committed terrorist acts resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people and the wounding of thousands more," the poster says.
"These acts include attacks on embassies, hijacking of airlines and their destruction, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and other incidents."
Canadian on wanted list
At least one of the men on the poster has known connections with Canada.
Jdey, as named on the poster, or Abderraouf Jdey, was born in Tunisia in 1965, moved to Canada in 1991 and lived in Montreal for several years.
He became a Canadian citizen in 1995 and was granted a passport in 1999. He is thought to have left Canada for good in November 2001.
Believed to be an al-Qaeda operative, he has been linked by investigators to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Jdey was identified as one of five men in a videotape that shows al-Qaeda members delivering martyrdom messages. The tape was found in the wreckage of the Kabul home of Mohammad Atef, believed to have been bin Laden's military chief.
$62M in rewards handed out
The poster urges anyone with information to contact a U.S. embassy or consulate if outside of the U.S., or the FBI if inside the country.
U.S. officials from the State Department's bureau of diplomatic security and the Department of Homeland Security are organizing the campaign through the Rewards for Justice program in Washington.
"These individuals on this particular poster are those that responsible for a number of attacks against individual Americans," Pat Donovan, a spokesman for the State Department, told CBC News.
Under the program, established in 1984, the U.S. secretary of state offers rewards for information that prevents, frustrates or favourably resolves extremist acts against the U.S.
The program, according to a Dec. 4 news release, has paid more than $62 million US to more than 40 people in the past seven years for information that prevented international attacks of extremism or helped bring to justice those involved in acts already committed.
It said rewards are generally up to $5 million US. Reward offers of up to $25 million have been made for bin Laden and other senior members of al-Qaeda.
Corrections:- James Lewis is not a spokesman for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, as was originally reported. He is the director of the Washington-based Center for Strategic Intelligence Studies. December 19, 2006 7:28 PM