Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
Financing Terrorism 3.0
Share: 
by nukegingrich | February 21, 2007 at 07:30 pm
662 views | 0 Recommendations | 6 comments
Over the past 5 years, I’ve spent a great deal of time reading and writing about the War against Islamic terrorism, with special emphasis on exposing the myths of the religion of peace™ ... Looking back, one area in which I have not spent a great deal of time, is in understanding the business aspects of terror cells.As most small businessmen understand, the lifeblood of a successful business is money. Specifically, that boils down to cash flow, and the ready availablity of affordable capital (borrowing). It’s really no different for a terror cell (with the obvious differences of producing death and mayhem as both a mission statement and product/service instead of a legitimate product/service with necessary transparency and oversight). Terror cells, as a business, require the ready availability of cash, and sufficient cash flow to support daily operations.
The Bush Administration has generally received good reviews for their efforts to freeze terrorist assets, with the understanding that much still needs to be done. For example, as Rachel Ehrenfeld reveals on the Terror Finance Blog, unless regulators intervene, obtaining the necessary cash for a terror cell may be just a few simple keystrokes away for anyone with a cell phone:
The GSM Association, the mobile telephone operator trade body, announced that 19 mobile phone companies will allow more than “600 million customers in over 100 countries,” to use their cell phones to transfer money internationally. “The system will allow a person to put cash onto their mobile, and order it to be sent to a mobile phone number abroad, where the recipient receives a text message saying that money has arrived.”
“The system will allow a person to put cash onto their mobile, and order it to be sent to a mobile phone number abroad, where the recipient receives a text message saying that money has arrived… the initiative could double the number of recipients of international remittances to more than 1.5 billion.” This new initiative, which is said to help migrant workers to send money to their families, would undoubtedly defeat most efforts to identify the users and follow the money trail. A terrorist dream comes true.
On a final note, isn’t it interesting that a terror cell’s cash flow dream is being sold as a way to help migrant workers to send money to their families? I suppose that includes illegal immigrant workers as well. This makes BofA’s decision last week to issue credit cards to illegal immigrants even more alarming. Now those very same borrowed funds will be theoreticaly available to be sent to anyone anywhere regardless of borders. Cash flow + ready availability of capital....
Related: Israel News Agency
original post at News and views
Advertisement
NowPublic on Facebook
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 06:57 on February 22nd, 2007
I think the anti-terror hysteria does us more harm than good. Well, for one, here in Europe no one can be holder of a GSM card without having presented an official identification. I am unsure about the British situation, but at least in continental Europe, there is no such thing as an anonymous money transfer. Once the money is transfered, in order to use it outside the cyberworld, it has to get back into the banking system it would appear to me. On the other hand, it becomes ever more aparent to me that probably the price we pay to live our conter-terrorist mania is probably too high a burden when seen the effects.
Recently, after her husband's death an old (>70 yrs) relative of mine had to close the bankaccount she had with her husband for over 25 years and transfer to a new account number with all the red tape that goes with that. Reason: People are only allowed to have accounts in nobody's but their own name. As if grandma was money laundering.
This is just another example, as is the prohibition to take liquids aboard planes. The body count to be expected from onboard thrombosis deaths (reason: scarcity of liquid) would certainly afford us two or even three blown up planes in mid air. Of course, those dying from thrombosis die in an unspectacular way and thus become part not of CNN news but of some anonymous statistics, and we feel "safe".
at 18:18 on February 22nd, 2007
"600 million customers in over 100 countries" means that this program will be available in over half of the 193 or so countries of the world. Expressing concern over the possible, if not probable abuse of this program really doesn't qualify as hysteria. However, your lack of concern over the immediate threat of terrorism is understandable. A lot of people share your view, but I'm not one of them.
Thanks for your comments.
at 20:19 on February 22nd, 2007
I am not really unworried about terrorism. I just think that it has lately become a comfy excuse for all acts of aggression. Since the invasion of Iraq under the WMD-pretence, who is going to believe a Republican administration on anything for at least one generation. While it becomes clearer by the hour that the sitting administration complacently ignores information just to boost other pieces and re-use it for their ends, my worry today is with the US. Seen from afar, the sitting administration is nothing short of a shakespearean drama. The problem with it: Their office gives them a kind of legitimation undeserved by their actions. We have seen it before in history: Those who intentionally and consistently lie earn themselves a huge time advantage before the rest discovers what is going on. It is pretty much the situation the US and its ciitzens find themselves in. This administration will be remembered for some unique "qualities". Maybe it will be up to Bollywood one distant future day to make heroic war movies about the wrestling down of what is brewing in the US today, just like Hollywood did on the German wrongdoings in WW II. Until then, I pray we may all come out of this relatively untarnished and healthy.
at 21:32 on February 22nd, 2007
Interesting comments, bloggi. I appreciate your view from Germany, and I would add that my concerns for the future of Germany and the entire EU are based more on what I see occurring demographically in your land. Native Germans are reproducing themselves at a rate of 1.3 births per woman, which is below the threshold necessary for your culture to survive. The story is much the same across western Europe, necessitating an influx of immigrants who come from an entirely different culture, and show few signs of desiring to be part of a pluralistic liberal democracy. In fact, a recent poll I saw showed that 60% of the immigrant population in England desired to live under Sharia law.
My point is this: if European politicians do nothing to wean western Europe off of its 35 hour work weeks and unsustainable pension and welfare programs, then you will be required to import workers to the degree that Europe will be culturally very different than it is today. Now, that's fine if these are people who are desirous of living in a liberal democracy. But, there are many indications that they are not. And, if they are not, then the Europe of 30 years from now will be completely different than the one you enjoy today.
at 19:04 on February 22nd, 2007
Laundering money's a lot easier than most people think. All you need to do is convert it to something else, then convert it back. Drug cartels use things as simple as money orders and travelers checks all the time. There's also online banking, offshore banking, and wiring money. Issuing credit cards to illegal immigrants or not isn't going to make much of a difference.
at 19:15 on February 22nd, 2007
good points, all. On my original post I linked an article that talked about those very issues.