Terrorism: Financing

A central front in law enforcement's war on transnational terrorism is the fight to interdict the funding of terrorist operations. While there is a limited degree of cooperation in the international community, little progress has been made in stopping the flow of funds across borders via illegitimate or underground financial networks.

Terrorism can be financed in two ways. First, profits realized from criminal enterprises can be directed to terrorism. Middle Eastern terrorist groups have received funding from criminal activities such as bank robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, or online fraud and identity theft. In 2009, armed robbers attacked an armored bank van in Yemen, displaying a level of sophisticated organization that suggested an Al Qaeda operation. Opium poppies grown in Afghanistan fund Taliban actions in that country ...