By Matt Hurley for the TIB Network:
From the Times-Leader:
Members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and other militants are turning increasingly to crime - from dealing drugs to selling knockoff shampoos and pirated CDs - to pay for attacks amid a crackdown on the movement of terrorist funds through world banks, security officials told The Associated Press.Not unexpected. In fact, I would think that this sort of activity has been going on in support of terrorism all along. Perhaps not at this scale of magnitude, but it isn't much of a stretch for a terrorist to take on an organized crime element.
As terrorist cells become more self-reliant, they are calling into question the notion they need an international financial support network to stage attacks, according to the independent commission that investigated al-Qaida's deadliest assault yet on Sept. 11, 2001.
U.S. Treasury officials, who have driven the global campaign to stem terrorist funding, acknowledge the shift and say it is a symptom of their success.
"Treasury's efforts have made it harder and costlier for terrorist groups like al-Qaida to move and raise money," Molly Millerwise, a department spokeswoman, told the AP. "However, as we strengthen our defenses against financial crimes and better safeguard the financial sector, al-Qaida and like-minded groups will resort to other means - such as petty crime, drug trafficking and commodities fraud - to raise and move money."
Apparently, we've identified 383 individuals or organizations that have supported terrorism financially and have frozen about $141 million in al Qaeda assets. Without all that funding, and without the centralized base in Afghanistan, the cells have turned to local charities, small business operations, and petty thuggery. The problem here is that as al Qaeda splinters off and becomes more decentralized, the administration's efforts on the financial front have less and less effect in deterring terrorism.
"It is no longer really appropriate to view issues of terrorism and organized crime as discrete areas," said Peter Chalk, a terrorism expert with the U.S.-based Rand Corp., an independent think tank. "They are increasingly interconnected, and you can't really separate one from the other - which unfortunately is the tendency of governments these days."Final semi-related thought: if al Qaeda is willing to engage in this sort of action now that they are in need, why wouldn't they have hooked up with a thug like Saddam Hussein for some assistance? Just asking...
