美懸賞1000萬美元緝拿班加西領館遇襲案真兇
The State Department said Friday that it has been quietly offering rewards since January of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any person involved in last year's attack on a US diplomatic compound in Libya. The announcement ends weeks of Obama administration silence on questions about whether it was using all available means to catch the attackers.
In a letter sent to lawmakers on Friday, the department said the rewards were not publicized on its "Rewards for Justice" website as is normally done because of security issues around the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the mission in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
"Due to security issues and sensitivities surrounding the investigation, the event-specific reward offer has not been publicly advertised on the RFJ website," the department said in a statement. "RFJ tools can be utilized in a variety of ways, without publicizing them on the website."
A State Department official familiar with the letter sent to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, by Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Julia Frifield acknowledged that it's unusual not to publicize offers of rewards, but said investigators have other ways of making sure the information is known "as needed." In the course of the probe, investigators have made it known to individuals that cash is available for those coming forward with actionable information.
The official said the rewards have been in place since Jan. 7, while Hillary Rodham Clinton was still secretary of state. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the private correspondence and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lawmakers had complained the department was not using everything at its disposal to catch the perpetrators. McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security committee, had been the lead author of an Oct. 30 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking why rewards were not being offered for the Benghazi attackers. Eighty-two other lawmakers signed that letter.
McCaul's office did not comment on the letter Friday.
The State Department had previously ducked questions about whether rewards for the Benghazi attackers had been offered, citing concerns about identifying possible suspects. The refusal to discuss the issue had led to criticism from many, mostly conservative, lawmakers who believe that the administration has badly mishandled Benghazi and may have even attempted to cover up key details about the attack that occurred on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.據美國媒體報道，當地時間11月15日，美國國務院發表聲明，證實國務院早在今年1月就懸賞高達1000萬美元（約合6094萬元人民幣）追捕製造美國駐利比亞班加西領事館遇襲案的元兇。
2012年9月11日晚，美國駐利比亞第二大城市班加西的領事館遭武裝分子襲擊，造成美國駐利比亞大使克里斯•斯蒂文斯和其他3名外交人員死亡。對於此類恐怖襲擊事件，通常情況下，美國國務院會在一個名爲“正義賞金”（Rewards for Justice）的網站上發佈懸賞令、緝拿兇犯。然而班加西領館遇襲事件發生後，“正義賞金”網站上並未公佈相關的懸賞信息，國務院方面也拒絕談論此事。正是因爲如此，最近幾周，有關奧巴馬政府是否採取了一切可能措施追捕兇手的質疑聲不絕於耳。
15日，在一封致國會議員的信中，國務院解釋稱，他們沒有按照慣例在“正義賞金”網站上公開班加西領館遇襲案的懸賞信息，是出於安全和敏感原因考慮。“由於安全原因和相關調查工作的敏感性，這個懸賞沒有公開。即使如此，仍然能夠採取其他多種方式對‘正義賞金’工具加以利用。”
據一位熟悉此事的國務院官員透露，這封信是由負責議會事務的助理國務卿茱莉亞•弗萊菲爾德回覆給得克薩斯州共和黨議員邁克爾•麥考爾的。弗萊菲爾德在信中承認，不公開懸賞信息的做法的確不太常見，但調查人員有其他的方式來確保懸賞信息被“有需要的人”知曉，並且在查案過程中，“提供有價值的、可採取行動的情報就能得到現金”這一訊息已經被調查人員傳播開來。
這名官員稱，懸賞金到位的確切時間是2013年1月7日，當時希拉里•克林頓還擔任美國國務卿。
一直以來，不少美國國會議員都在抱怨國務院沒能支配一切可利用的資源來追捕製造班加西領館遇襲案的恐怖分子。麥考爾是國會衆議院國土安全委員的主席，他10月30日寫信給國務卿約翰•克里，質問當局爲什麼沒有爲班加西領館遭襲案提供懸賞金。這封信上還有其他28名國會議員的簽名。迄今爲止，麥考爾的辦公室尚未就國務院的回信作出評論。
