Excellent news. Whatever it takes to get these bastards...

i agree!

It's worth it, better than paying Haliburton. At least these terrorists are dead. Haliburton is still bleeding us.

Do you have any idea how many weapons and explosives 10 mil will buy?
These may be informants today but if history is accurate, they will be the terrorists trying to overthrow their local government tomorrow.

At this time, local support for separatist groups like Abu Sayyaf is dwindling. More people in the PI want to see them gone, rather than exist.

ARMM is already an autonomous Muslim region on Mindanao and the southern islands, supported by the PI government, and although the area is the poorest in the country, for obvious reasons, most of Abu Sayyaf's kidnap and murder victims are local Philipinos, which, save for their comon cause, doesn't bode well with most of the local population.

In the southern Philippines, the U.S. has built new classrooms, medical clinics, roads, wells, and other social-welfare projects, spending over $250 million in aid since 2001. With Washington’s [low-key] encouragement, Manila negotiated a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest insurgent group in the southern Philippines but one that had demonstrated a willingness to renounce terrorism and turn against Abu Sayyaf. Many locals now relay information about Abu Sayyaf to the government.

Sure the 10 mil reward in the wrong hands would buy a good chunk of weapons, but the person who collected is most likely somebody who wants these people gone for good...

"Most likely"?
In view of modern history, that's not very reassuring.

jackie | Jun 12, 2007 6:31:13 PM

It's worth it, better than paying Haliburton. At least these terrorists are dead. Haliburton is still bleeding us.

Blah blah blah...get a new argument. What does Haliburton have to do with this?

marc.

sorry jackie

There we go again, giving money out to narcs. Hey ever wonder how these narcs got the contacts they needed to turn over to the U.S.? Right, they are criminals themselves, and now rich ones at that. I have a sneaking suspicion that the 10 million won't be going towards better infrastructure in their communities. Remember who we gave the money to, because they be the ones we're chasing in a couple more years...

Trent makes the real point. If you want effective intel you've got to have bad guys on the pay roll. Absolutely correct Trent, just like the CIA back when it worked. Where were you Trent back when Congress took the teeth from the CIA not allowing them to pay bad guys. Glad your smarter than that Trent.

You see Trent, when you have bad guys on the payroll they keep in contact with you. They want to get paid. That makes it pretty easy to infiltrate their organization. Then if they get out of line or stop filling a need you kill them. We're not playing soccer here. Brian Ross and ABC can talk with, get information from and pay anyone that will help them get a story to help sell adverising but the CIA and our government can't?

So now our country is okay with 'paying' Terrorists (they are to those they go after!) to kill people? Wow....... time to wake up to our own hypocracy mabey?

Jenn...I think you are confused. We don't know who the informants were. They could have been a butcher a baker and a candle stick maker the article doesn't say. They are merely listed as citizens. See this is how the dis-information game is played. I, just another lunkhead on-line, pointed out that to be effective in the spy world bad guys have got to be on the pay roll. I pontificate the U.S. is foolish for NOT paying bad guys. When the police task force is looking to clamp down on gang related sex trafficking between L.A. and Mexico do you think they should try to develop leads with the waiter down at the Fiesta Grill? Or would society be better served if they tried to "swing a deal" with some dirt bag smuggler that actually might know something? See... this is what happens, I spring board off some other lunkheads post who said these guys that got the reward are probably criminals them selves. Next you pick it up and by the time you're posting it on hatebush.com
the story has totally morphed into Bush paid Osama to turn in Zarqawi with Halliburton funds.

Although...the use of the title "citizen" sounds a bit Red to me so you might be on to something Jenn.

You people are perfect examples of why the USA is divided and paralysed at a time when we desperately need to be united and focused on solutions. In a time when good news is very hard to find, you'd rather snipe at each other over the POSSIBILITY that the informants MIGHT use the reward money in a bad way at some future time. None of you has any idea what you're talking about, one way or the other. How could you? You're just a bunch of regular citizens like everybody else. You have no inside information. If you did, you sure wouldn't use this forum to get it out. So how about doing something constructive? CELEBRATE what you do know (these evil men will not be murdering anyone else) and look for ways to contribute something positive to your country's situation, instead of feeding your egos with a lot of useless pontificating, second guessing and pointless sniping.

I was going to add something to this "conversation" but Athol has already said it perfectly! Well done.

Ditto that...

The comments on this article reflects the ignorance and lack of understanding of some people. I spent some time in Mindanao and to say that the informants are also terrorist or sympathizers is totally biased. The people in the Philippines, in general and Mindanao in particular care so much about peace and order like anyone else in the world. They want to live in peace and earn a livelihood. Their economic lives have been disrupted since multinational corporations have displaced some of them and turned their land into rubber, pineapple and banana plantations. Those in the coastal areas are competing against foreign trawlers granted fishing rights. If you were in their shoes, you will also fight back since depriving you of your livelihood threatens your survival.
Following your logic, does granting American Indians license to operate casinos make them a threat to national security? They will be making tons of money and will be able to sue and regain land that they consider their own.