THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 296, December 10, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TURNING OFF THE TAP OF TERRORIST FUNDING:
A BRIEFING PRESENTED TO THE MIDDLE EAST FORUM
By Dr. Rachael Ehrenfeld
Terrorism consists of two components: ideology and money. Just as the United States must work to combat the ideology of militant
Islam, it must work no less to destroy the flow of money to terrorist organizations. If this is not accomplished, terrorists will continue
to be bankrolled by foreign governments, charitable organizations, the exploitation of financial markets, and a number of other sources.
The consequences will be dire.
The True Price of Terrorism:
Media sources have often stated that the September 11th attacks cost the Al-Qa'ida terrorists a mere $250,000 to $500,000. In reality,
however, the few hundred thousand dollars used for flight training, reconnaissance, transportation, and box cutters represent only
a small portion of the funds spent by Al-Qa'ida on terrorist activities. The attacks would not have been possible without the prior
development of the group's global infrastructure, which cost perhaps billions of dollars to set up and maintain. Vast sums of money
have been spent on recruitment, training camps, conventional and unconventional weapons, intelligence gathering, various forms
of Islamist propaganda, and other activities.
The Many Sources of Income
The sources that feed these organizations are much more varied than one might assume. The Saudi government has admitted to
spending more than $87 billion over the last decade in an effort to spread Wahhabism. This money has been spent on the creation
of Mosques, schools, and other institutions that have constituted the breeding grounds for the foot soldiers of the global Islamic
terrorist movement. Political considerations, and oil, have prevented Washington from holding the Saudis accountable for their
role in promoting terrorism.
However, the Saudis are far from the only source of terrorism funding. Funding for terrorist organizations comes mainly from
national governments, including but not limited to Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a number of other Arab states; charitable organizations
like the Arab League and the International Islamic Relief Organization; "legitimate" business fronts, such as travel agencies and
cell phone distributors; the exploitation of the unregulated commodities market and other financial markets; and various forms of
international trade that convert cash into diamonds and gold. Terrorists also generate money from criminal activities such as
extortion, prostitution rings, video pirating, and drug trafficking.
Furthermore, terrorist organizations have created links with the Russian Mafia, Colombian drug cartel, and a number of other
international criminal organizations. These links of politics, money, geography, and arms create a mutually beneficial relationship
that allows both the terrorists and the criminal organizations to prosper. Drug trafficking, an estimated $2 trillion market per year,
has become the best weapon for terrorists. Beyond helping terrorists to finance their wide range of illegal activities, the drug
market has also allowed terrorist organizations to undermine targeted countries both politically and economically, while at the
same time creating a crisis in the targeted country's public health system. Furthermore, the illegal drug trade has helped Islamist
terrorist organizations recruit new members by citing drug use as an indication of Western degeneracy, and a sign that such
corrupt societies need to be destroyed.
Funding From Our Own Backyard:
Terrorists also fund their campaigns by more direct channels, specifically through the complacency of Western governments,
and more specifically, through the United Nations. In 2002, the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) distributed
$521.7 million to the Palestinian Authority. Most of this money did not make its way into the pockets of the Palestinian people,
as the average Palestinian continued to live on one to two dollars a day. Rather, large portions of this money ended up in the
pockets of the Palestinian leaders and their terrorist associates. While the Palestinian Arab refugees constitute 17% of
worldwide refugees, they receive more than one third of the annual refugee funds allocated by the UN, with roughly 30% of
this $350 million coming from the United States. The staff of UNRWA, the organization that oversees and facilitates the aid to
Palestinians, is staffed by so many Hamas members that it is nicknamed the "Hamas Union." In the UN refugee camps
themselves, large amounts of weapons and bomb materials have been found, including facilities to create rockets that can
reach major Israeli cities. These weapons have been constructed under the watchful eye of the UN, and with money given to
the UN under the guise of aiding impoverished refugees.
The Europeans, America's supposed closest allies, have done little to stop the funding of terrorists. The EU states have
persisted in allowing various organizations that act as fronts for Hamas to continue to send funds to the West Bank and Gaza.
While many of these organizations have been shut down in the U.S.A., they have sprung up in ever increasing numbers in the
EU states. A militant Islamic group in the UK went as far as publicly distributing playing cards with the faces of the
"magnificent nineteen" World Trade Center bombers to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Furthermore, the
Europeans continually rebuff the efforts made by the United States to freeze the assets of known international terrorist
organizations. By refusing to comply with the United States' request to freeze identified funds in their own countries, the EU
states have undermined efforts made in the United States to seize the worldwide funds held by known terrorists.
Conclusion:
All Islamic terrorist organizations cooperate with each other, yet Western states remain unable to work in concert to stop the
flow of money to terrorist organizations. Winning the war on terrorism requires cooperation to implement methods that end
all funding to all terrorists from all countries. Every terrorist organization must be treated equally, and every state that supports
terrorism must be dealt with equally. We must also use new technologies and new ideas to aid in the war on drugs. We must
help countries to eliminate the corruption in their governments because corruption facilitates terrorist funding. We must
implement a new standard to evaluate the recipients of U.S. taxpayers' money, and monitor how this money is spent. If it is not
possible to stop every dollar from reaching the bank account of every terrorist organization, a large portion of the terrorist's
funding can indeed be stopped. Not to do so may create a tragedy far worse than September 11th.
The paragraphs above constitute a summary account of the September 19, 2003, briefing by Dr. Rachael Ehrenfeld. The summary
was written by Christopher King, a Research Assistant at the Middle East Forum. The original version can be found on the
Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
December 10, 2003
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Rachel Ehrenfeld, PhD, director of the New York-based American Center for Democracy, is an expert on transnational organized crime,
international terrorism, drug trafficking, and corruption. She has served as a research scholar at New York University School of Law,
a visiting scholar at the Columbia University Institute of War and Peace Studies, and a fellow at Johns Hopkins's School of Advanced
International Studies. She is the author of Evil Money, Narco-Terrorism, and the newly released Funding Evil. Additional information
on Dr. Ehrenfeld may be viewed at her website, www.public-integrity.org. She spoke to the
Middle East Forum in Philadelphia on September 19, 2003 and in New York on September 23, 2003.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume V, 2003
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights, Page Two
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights, Page One
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity