The capture of a senior figure in al-Qaeda in Thailand last month has set off a mad and, some say, unseemly scramble. Thai police, military, and intelligence units have all approached the American Embassy with their hands out, asking for a share of the reward for the capture of Riduan Isamuddin Hambali.
Speculation has been rife in the Thai news media that the US was offering US$4 million in bounty for Hambali, who was captured 50 miles north of Bangkok. US officials allege that Hambali was part of the inner circle of Osama bin Laden and that he had a role in a number of the terrorist attacks against the US in the past decade, including the ones on Sept. 11, 2001.
"The government is very serious about combating terrorism, but it is also very serious about collecting the reward for the arrest of terrorist suspect Hambali," The Bangkok Post wrote last Thursday. "And it wants to know how much is due."
Publicly, US officials have responded by saying that no bounty was ever offered specifically for the capture of Hambali.
But there is in fact a cache of US cash to be divided up, and it is bigger than the rumors suggest, according to US and Thai officials. It is more, in fact, than the CIA intended to give.
The CIA proposed dispensing US$1 million to the various Thai security and drug units that helped in the capture of Hambali. But White House officials decided for unknown reasons to raise the payout, and the US is now paying US$10 million, US and Thai officials said.
Washington's generosity is causing headaches for the CIA. There are intense rivalries and jealousies between the Thai police, military and intelligence units. Often they refuse to share intelligence information, and one unit would not take kindly to another one getting more of the reward money, a Western diplomat said.
The CIA also wants to make sure that the reward goes to the police officers and soldiers who played a part in Hambali's detection and arrest, and is not siphoned off by senior officers.
The agency is also looking for charities to receive donations out of the money, such as a fund for widows and orphans associated with the police or army.
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