U.S. offers $10 million bounty for Benghazi attackers

USPA News - The U.S. government is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individuals involved in last year`s Benghazi attack, which resulted in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador John Christopher Stevens and three others. The U.S. State Department acknowledged the reward on Friday after a letter from a Republican lawmaker to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last month that questioned why the government had failed to use its Reward for Justice (RFJ) Program to help apprehend those involved in the September 11, 2012 attack.

In a letter to U.S. House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul and 82 additional members of Congress, the State Department said the Rewards for Justice Program has offered the $10 million reward since January, when Hillary Clinton was still Secretary of State. It was decided not to go public with the reward due to security issues. "Due to security issues and sensitivities surrounding the investigation, the event-specific reward offer has not been publicly advertised on the RFJ website," a state department spokesman said in a statement. "RFJ tools can be utilized in a variety of ways, without publicizing them on the website." In the letter dated October 30, McCaul and 84 co-signers said they were "deeply troubled" that no reward had been offered despite public statements by U.S. President Barack Obama to bring those responsible for the Benghazi attack to justice. The letter also quoted the State Department`s own website which describes RFJ as "one of the most valuable assets" the U.S. has in fighting international terrorism. "We fail to understand how such an important counterterrorism tool could not be used by the administration, when you (Kerry) and the President claim that bringing the assailants to justice is such a high priority," the letter said. "Please explain to us why one of the most valuable assets the U.S. government has in the fight against international terrorism will not help to bring justice the victims of the Benghazi attack, as you have so determined." The Benghazi attack happened when militants believed to have ties to al-Qaeda affiliates attacked the U.S. consulate in the Libyan port city of Benghazi. It happened on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the United States and marked the first time in more than three decades that a U.S. Ambassador was killed as a result of hostile action. The Obama administration initially blamed the attack on protests against a 14-minute English-language amateur movie that depicts Islam`s Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and feckless philanderer who approved of child sexual abuse. That explanation later backfired with Republicans accusing the Obama administration of misleading the public just weeks before the elections.