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 is necessary for activities such as proselytizing, training, purchasing materials for specific operations, and obtaining basic commodities like food and lodging.

The sources of funding vary according to the political environment in which a given terrorist [Page 207]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 like 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. Many U.S.-based terrorist groups have resorted to bank robberies, as well; in the 1980s, for example, a white supremacist group known as The Order netted more than $3 million in a series of robberies staged to fund their right-wing revolution.

In contrast, some organizations have more precise objectives and depend on an assortment of methods to reach these objectives, including terrorism. These organizations need reliable sources of ongoing funding. For instance, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the FARC, has been in existence since the mid-1960s. The FARC claims to represent the interests of Colombian peasants and endorses a socialist political philosophy with the goal of seizing national power. The country's illegal drug trade has proved to be a valuable source of revenue for the organization.

Ironically, one of the most expensive things a terrorist group can do is to eschew violence and become a legitimate political organization. Running candidates in elections and affecting change through the political process is far more costly (at least in terms of money) than planting bombs and the like, a fact that has complicated the transition of violent organizations like the Irish Republican Army into peaceful political parties like Sinn Féin.