The Terrorist Bounty Hunters

By Janice Castro

When it comes to blocking terrorist plots, the U.S. has learned, cold cash works. Since 1989, the State Department has run an interagency task force, called Rewards Program for Terrorism Information, that pays bounties for tips on attack plans. So far the task force, which combines the efforts of the National Security Agency, the FBI and CIA, Interpol and other agencies, has been contacted by snitches in 60 nations and has paid more than $2 million in bounties. Its most dramatic coup: a tip during the Gulf War that Saddam's agents planned to attack a U.S. airline installation in Bangkok. Says a State Department official: "We were able to prevent an attack in which probably hundreds of lives would have been lost." Reward: $1 million.