Terrorist Finance (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

I recently heard an open source analyst comment that the Syrian insurgents were receiving financial support, up to US$600m, from rich families and others in the Gulf who move the cash to Kuwait ostensibly to donate to Kuwaiti charities. Kuwait and the Gulf states have legislation on countering terrorism finance, but being charitable donations prefer to "look the other way". Plus a Salafist faction is present in the Kuwaiti parliament, who would not support an official response.

A partial support comes in this Kuwaiti newspaper report:http://alhayat.com/Details/568664 The Google translation is not perfect.

[Bill Moore]

I recently heard an open source analyst comment that the Syrian insurgents were receiving financial support, up to US$600m, from rich families and others in the Gulf who move the cash to Kuwait ostensibly to donate to Kuwaiti charities. Kuwait and the Gulf states have legislation on countering terrorism finance, but being charitable donations prefer to "look the other way". Plus a Salafist faction is present in the Kuwaiti parliament, who would not support an official response.

A partial support comes in this Kuwaiti newspaper report:http://alhayat.com/Details/568664 The Google translation is not perfect.

Ultimately this is a Shia-Sunni conflict at the strategic level, and Saudi is the leading Sunni State supporter of the Sunni resistance in Syria. I don't think they ever attempted to conceal that, but they are much more vocal about it now that they have publically changed the nature of their diplomatic relationship with the U.S. due to disagreement on U.S. policy towards Iran and Syria.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Sau...t-of-US-330461

Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies are moving to independently provide military support to Syrian rebels amid what they see as a failure of US leadership in the region, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing senior Gulf officials.

According to the report, the officials said that they have given up on the US as coordinator of efforts to arm and train Syrian rebels after Washington decided not to launch air strikes after the use of chemical weapons by Syria, as well as the US decision to engage in diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear program.

Also talk of Saudis desiring to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan, so it doesn't appear stability in this region is on the horizon any time soon.

[davidbfpo]

More on the role of Kuwaiti individuals and others in raising funds for the violent Jihad in Syria:http://mideastafrica.foreignpolicy.c....MqY5DsXo.dpbs

Curious to learn some support President Assad and of course there is now a law about to counter terrorism financing. Clearly working well.

[Firn]

It would be interesting to know a bit more about how efficient the transfer from the oil $ to the islamist fighters is. Tapping into the arsenals of the respective states should greatly ease the logistics and enhance the efficiency of the operations but as far as I know it left too obvious signs.

I have read little about the Syrian economy which must be in a terrible, terrible state and it is quite likely that USD, maybe somewhat intermixed with Euros has become the currency of choice in many areas.

[davidbfpo]

Links to two US media reports, a short one:http://mideastafrica.foreignpolicy.c...EBhGc0.twitter and the pointer to a Brookings paper 'Playing with Fire: Why Private Gulf Financing for Syria’s Extremist Rebels Risks Igniting Sectarian Conflict at Home':http://www.brookings.edu/research/pa...lict-dickinson

[davidbfpo]

'Strife' is a blog run from Kings War Studies and the series started today, with a "broad brush" review and opens with:

Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban are household names these days. Yet, in the climate of the ‘War on Terror’, how do organisations like these survive and even thrive? It takes more than just strong leadership and organizational skills to uphold the proper functioning of terrorist groups – it takes money. Terrorism is the culmination of costly planning. It includes the dissemination of ideology, maintenance of logistics, recruitment and training of operatives, and perpetration of the terrorist act itself. Financial activity related to terrorism accounts for an estimated 5% of the annual global output, or about $1.5 trillion US$.

Link:http://strifeblog.org/2015/01/07/fin...4-part-series/

Coming up:

Over the next few weeks Strife will feature a four-part series on terrorist financing. Each author will examine a different method of terrorist financing, using modern and varied case studies, offering a new look at who and what is funding today’s terror activities. Arne Holverscheid will discuss the role of private Kuwaiti donors in financing rebel groups in Syria affiliated with terror organisations and blurring the lines between good and bad, friend and foe. Claire Mennesier will examine the involvement of Pakistan in financing terror groups, and the motivations and challenges presented by this involvement. Samuel Smith will address the frightening trend of kidnapping for ransom as a source of finance for terror groups through a case study of the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Finally, Drew Alyeshmerni will shed light upon the use of charities as a cover for terrorist financing and the implication that defining certain organisations as terror groups may have upon the eradication of this source of financing.