Solutions - Economic
Wealth Deprivation
For powerful nations such as the U.S., an important prerequisite for preventing terrorism is to sever the financial backing of the terrorist groups. This involves finding out how terrorists raise, transfer, and spend their money. Often wealthy donors transfer their money to extremist groups, but the interesting thing is that most terrorist events cost very little. For example a suicide bombing causing 1,000 deaths may only cost as little as $1,000. Thus these money trails are virtually impossible to track.
Additionally, many countries in the Middle East have resisted pressure from the U.S. to conduct an examination of these criminal financiers.
"Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups continue to have access to the funds they need for active and expanded indoctrination, recruitment, maintenance, armament and operations," said Victor D. Comras, a former United Nations terrorism finance official.
Many key terrorist nations are not nearly taking the steps needed to stop terrorist financing or even engage higher levels of security on their borders to prevent this flow of illegal money. The main problem that the U.S. is facing is that it cannot crack the mechanisms the terrorists use to finance their acts. Even though an open state of warfare has been declared against terrorist activities, it is still continuing through secret money channels.
Despite this setback, there is still hope. President Bush has announced, "a major thrust of our war on terrorism . . . a strike on the financial foundation of the global terror network… We will starve the terrorists of funding, turn them against each other, rout them out of their safe hiding places and bring them to justice."
The U.S. is working with the UN to achieve this goal of attacking terrorism at its financial roots.
Wealth Deprivation
For powerful nations such as the U.S., an important prerequisite for preventing terrorism is to sever the financial backing of the terrorist groups. This involves finding out how terrorists raise, transfer, and spend their money. Often wealthy donors transfer their money to extremist groups, but the interesting thing is that most terrorist events cost very little. For example a suicide bombing causing 1,000 deaths may only cost as little as $1,000. Thus these money trails are virtually impossible to track.
Additionally, many countries in the Middle East have resisted pressure from the U.S. to conduct an examination of these criminal financiers.
"Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups continue to have access to the funds they need for active and expanded indoctrination, recruitment, maintenance, armament and operations," said Victor D. Comras, a former United Nations terrorism finance official.
Many key terrorist nations are not nearly taking the steps needed to stop terrorist financing or even engage higher levels of security on their borders to prevent this flow of illegal money. The main problem that the U.S. is facing is that it cannot crack the mechanisms the terrorists use to finance their acts. Even though an open state of warfare has been declared against terrorist activities, it is still continuing through secret money channels.
Despite this setback, there is still hope. President Bush has announced, "a major thrust of our war on terrorism . . . a strike on the financial foundation of the global terror network… We will starve the terrorists of funding, turn them against each other, rout them out of their safe hiding places and bring them to justice."
The U.S. is working with the UN to achieve this goal of attacking terrorism at its financial roots.