Kerry: Drone ‘Program Will End as We Have Eliminated Most of the Threat’ [TWS]

    Secretary of State John Kerry gave several TV interviews while in Islamabad, Pakistan on Thursday, including one to Mariam Chaudhry of Pakistan TV.  One question related to the drone policy of the United States which is extremely unpopular in Pakistan.  In his answer, Kerry seemed to suggest the program, which he said President Obama has "really narrowed," has almost accomplished its goals, not just in Pakistan, but throughout the world [emphasis added]:

QUESTION: ... to speak a little bit more on this terrorism issue, Pakistan has been facing a grievous scenario vis-a-vis internal security. There has been a lot of tension between the United States and Pakistan, especially vis-a-vis the subject of drones. People in Pakistan feel that not only has it been causing human casualty in Pakistan, but also it has been kind of a blatant disregard of the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan. Can we expect a cessation in these drone strikes, which are causing and mobilizing a lot of sentiment against the Pakistani Government and the United States? 

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, President Obama is very, very sensitive and very concerned about any kind of reaction to any kind of counterterrorism activities, whatever they may be. And the President has spoken very directly, very transparently, and very accountably to our – to all of our efforts. We want to work with the Government of Pakistan, not against it. 

This is a program in many parts of the world where the President has really narrowed, whatever it might be doing, to live up to the highest standards with respect to any kind of counterterrorism activities. And I believe that we’re on a good track. I think the program will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it. 

QUESTION: And there is no timeline that you envisage for ending this strike? 

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, I do. And I think the President has a very real timeline and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon.

    Unlike the broader war in Afghanistan, which President Obama has said will end in 2014, the president has not given any public indication of what this "real timeline" to end the drone program might be.


Note:  A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

State Department Offers Reward for Leads on ‘Location’ of Terrorists

    The State Department announced on Monday a total of up to $23 million in rewards for information on terrorists in West Africa, the first time the Department's Rewards for Justice program has offered rewards in that part of the continent.  Although the Obama administration has repeatedly insisted that the leadership of al-Qaeda has been decimated, four of the five terrorist on this new list are either current al-Qaeda leadership or alumni of the organization according to the State Department press release.  And from the wording of the new reward offers, as well as many of the previous outstanding reward offers, capturing and taking these men into custody is not the primary focus of Rewards for Justice [emphasis added]:

The Secretary of State has authorized rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the location of AQIM leader Yahya Abu el Hammam and Signed-in-Blood Battalion leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar [former AQIM]; rewards of up to $3 million each for information leading to the location of AQIM leader Malik Abou Abdelkarim and MUJWA spokesperson Oumar Ould Hamaha [former AQIM]; and a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the location of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram.

    One of the distinguishing features of the Rewards for Justice program is the more limited  qualification attached to most of the reward offers.  While other government reward programs for information on fugitives depend on information leading to an arrest or even an arrest and conviction, the vast majority of rewards offered by the State Department's Rewards for Justice ask only for "information leading to the location" of the terrorists in question.
    There are exceptions, such as the $10 million for "[i]nformation leading to the arrest or conviction of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed," but even the $25 million reward for Ayman al-Zawahiri, founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, requires only "location."  In fact, rewards on only five of the 58 terrorists currently listed call for "capture" or "arrest."  The remainder, including all of the new West Africa additions, the first added to the program since President Obama's speech on counterterrorism policy two weeks ago, are subject to the location-only standard.
    In that speech, the president said in his justification of his drone policy, "despite our strong preference for the detention and prosecution of terrorists, sometimes this approach is foreclosed."  Since 53 of 58 Rewards for Justice offers simply ask for the "location" of the terrorists, it seems safe to assume that "detention and prosecution" is less a "strong preference" and more a rare exception, at least in this collection of high-value targets.  And with the president's renewed call for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, the administration arguably has more incentive than ever to keep the number of high-ranking terrorist leaders in custody low.  The current structure of the Rewards for Justice program would seem to reflect the administration's intentions to do just that.


Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.