April
2, 2002, 8:55 a.m. The
Price of War
Good
guys can’t do ransom.
By Joel Mowbray
eflecting
a marked departure from longstanding policy, the U.S. recently facilitated
a $3 million ransom payment (paid with private, not government money)
to al Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf, according
to a report by Fox News.
Assuming this is
true — U.S. officials have not denied the story — then it is
a disastrous move that puts the safety of Americans overseas in jeopardy,
and it serves to build up the very enemy we are trying to defeat.
Compounding the tragedy
is the fact that the terrorist group has received the cash, but the kidnapped
American couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, has not been returned, and
there are reports in the foreign press that the husband may have been
killed already. It is unclear how the U.S. government could have sanctioned
such a large ransom payment without simultaneously ensuring the safe release
of the Christian missionaries.
Aside from the apparent failure in the case of the Burnhams, having the
government get its hands dirty with ransom money to terrorists has potentially
grave consequences. The Heritage Foundation's Dana Dillon, a southeast
Asia policy expert, bluntly notes that the government's action "just
encourages kidnapping of other Americans by terrorists everywhere in the
world."
With expansive plans of terrorist attacks in the far reaches of the globe,
members of the al Qaeda network are continually scrambling to fund their
evil deeds. No doubt kidnapping Americans looks appealing now that the
U.S. sanctions payment of ransoms.
Abu Sayyaf already knows the value of kidnapping foreigners, as they have
collected some $25 million in ransoms in recent years. Although the organization's
manpower has dwindled to 80-100 paid soldiers, it had ten times that strength
when it was raking in massive sums.
The U.S. military has sent 660 American troops to train the Filipino soldiers,
for the explicit purpose of combating the al Qaeda affiliate in the southern
islands of the Philippines. But flush with $3 million, Abu Sayyaf is going
to prove a much more resilient enemy, now that they can afford more soldiers
and other resources.
Money fuels terrorism, and one of the most important components of our
war on terror has been freezing assets belonging to al Qaeda or any group
or individual with ties to the terrorist network. The facilitation of
ransom payments, however, flies in the face of our carefully plotted strategy,
even if the U.S. government is handing over private money — such
a distinction is meaningless to would-be kidnappers.
The danger to Americans abroad is very real — and very widespread.
Al Qaeda operatives are not just in places like the Philippines or Indonesia,
but also in European countries like Germany and Britain, where several
of the September 11th hijackers had lived previously. The ransom payment
to Abu Sayyaf has put a price on the heads of Americans overseas.
Common sense begs the question: Why did our government sanction a ransom
to terrorists? The stated rationale is that the government could use the
money to track down the kidnappers, most likely thru some sort of high-tech
gadgetry. Trouble is, there's no evidence to suggest that this premise
will work in practice.
The official policy regarding ransoms paid with private funds was changed
a month ago following the brutal murder of kidnapped Wall Street Journal
reporter Daniel Pearl. About the same time, the U.S. announced it would
consider military action to free civilians captured by terrorists. Ironically,
facilitating ransom payments will increase the number of cases where the
military might need to act to rescue Americans held hostage.
Perhaps the ransom paid to Abu Sayyaf was booby-trapped and will lead
to the ultimate defeat of the terrorist organization. But if the evildoers
escape unscathed, with the loot in hand, it will be open season on Americans
abroad. The only sane approach in the event of failure will be for government
officials to admit error and reaffirm the old mantra that we never negotiate
with terrorists.
If Abu Sayyaf had not received $25 million in ransoms over the years,
Martin and Gracia Burnham almost certainly would be breathing freedom
today. Terrorists will engage in kidnapping as long as it pays for them
to do so. We must be resolute in our determination to make sure it doesn't.
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eflecting
a marked departure from longstanding policy, the U.S. recently facilitated
a $3 million ransom payment (paid with private, not government money)
to al Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf, 
