Terrorist Finance (merged thread)

[relative autonomy]

Terror Inc. by Loretta Napoleoni

Has anybody read this? I think its a pretty great economic analysis of the other side of the War on Terror/

A teaser quote from the preface:

"...over the last fight years, members of armed organizations have been hunted down like criminals at home by the same political forces that have fostered them abroad; the final aim being to serve the economic interest of the West and its allies, Muslim oligarchies and...the former Soviet Union in the past and Russia at present.This duality provided terror organizations with the motives to strike back and the opportunity to build their own economy. I have defined this phenomenon as the New Economy of Terror, an international network linking the support and logistical systems of armed groups. Today the New Economy of Terror is a fast growing international economic system, with a turnover of about 1.5 trillion, twice the GDP of the United Kingdom, and is challenging Western Hegemony, What we are facing today is the global class between to economic systems on dominant--Western Capitalism--the other insurgent--the New Economy of Terror...
...this scenario is reminiscent of the Crusades, when Western Chirstendom rebelled against the domination of Islam. Behind the religious conflagration, economic forces initiated and sustained the Crusades, enabling the West to repel Islam and begin its march to dominance....the political and economic dominance of the West has hindered the expansion of emerging economic and financial forces in the Muslim world. These forces have forge alliances with Islamist armed groups and hard-line religious leaders in a campaign to rid Muslim countries of Western influence and domestic oligarchic rulers. As in the Crusades, religion is simply the recruitments tool; the real driving force is economics.
The New Economy of Terror has become an integral part of the global illegal economy, generating vast amounts of money. This river of cash flows into traditional economies, primarily the US, where it is recycled. It has devastating effects on Western business ethics, but above all it cements the many links and opens new ones between the New Economy of Terror and legal ones.
September 11 was rude awakening for the world. It has triggered a war against a phenomenal enemy, who will attack whenever possible. What the world has not realized is that this enemy is the product of the polices of dominance adopted by Western governments and their allies--the oligarchic powers of the Middle East and Asia--its monetary lifeline is deeply intertwined with out own economies. The essence of it is being the New Economy of Terror."