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President Bush unveiled the "World's Most Wanted Terrorist List" Oct. 10 during a ceremony at the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building here.
"Terrorists try to operate in the shadows. They try to hide, but we're going to shine the light of justice on them," Bush said. "We list their names, we publicize their pictures, we rob them of their secrecy. Terrorism has a face, and today we expose it for the world to see."
The list is an outgrowth of the "10 Most Wanted" list the FBI started in 1950. The idea has been to publish photos of fugitives so people can identify them by their pictures. A total of 432 fugitives have been apprehended directly because of this program, FBI officials said.
The new list has 22 names and faces, with Osama bin Laden on top. "The men on the wall here have put themselves on the list because of great acts of evil," Bush said. "They plan, promote and commit murder. They fill the minds of others with hate and lies. And by their cruelty and violence, they betray whatever faith they espouse."
Some of the 22 have been indicted by courts for acts of terror. FBI officials said they will publish the list worldwide. There is a $5 million reward for the person or persons who deliver the information that leads to the arrest of any of these individuals. In addition, the Air Line Pilots Association and Air Transport Association have offered a further $2 million reward for bin Laden.
"These 22 individuals do not account for all the terrorist activity in the world, but they're among the most dangerous: the leaders and key supporters, the planners and strategists," Bush said.
Some on the list are known to be in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Tanzania and Lebanon. Most are wanted for the events of Sept. 11, the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. The list is available at www.fbi.gov.
"This effort is part of a worldwide assault on terror," Bush said. "All our allies and friends will now be familiar with these evildoers and their associates."
Bush said the list is just one more step in an arsenal of financial, diplomatic, law enforcement and military weapons against the terrorist networks. He also said the 22 on this list are just the first 22.
"Our war is not just against 22 individuals," he said. "Our war is against networks and groups, people who coddle them, people who try to hide them, people who fund them. This is our calling. This is the calling of the United States of America, the most free nation in the world -- a nation built on fundamental values that rejects hate, rejects violence, rejects murderers, rejects evil.
"We will not tire. We will not relent. It is not only important for the homeland security of America that we succeed, it is equally as important for generations of Americans who have yet be born," he continued. "Now is the time to draw the line in the sand against the evil ones, and this government is committed to doing just that."
Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2001 |
| Date Posted: | 07.03.2025 23:23 |
| Story ID: | 526647 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 3 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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