Financing Terrorism

The often-spectacular nature of terrorist activities sometimes obscures the simple fact that terrorist organizations need financial support to sustain operations. Without some method of securing funds, groups conducting terrorist actions would be unable to function. This funding may be necessary for activities ranging from proselytizing to training to purchasing materials for specific operations to basic commodities such as food and lodging.

The sources of funding vary according to the political environment in which a given terrorist organization exists and the goals of the organization. For example, several groups appeared in Western Europe in the 1970s espousing a vague leftist ideology and resorting to actions such as kidnapping high-ranking government and corporate officials. The relatively low cost of these operations meant that these groups did not require a large, steady supply of funding. Sometimes these groups resorted to illegal activities like bank robbery to raise revenue. ...