Counterterrorism Blog

A soon to be released GAO report, leaked to the New York Times and others, finds that, four years after 9-11 the U.S. government "lacks and intergrated strategy" to help other countries cut off the flow of funds to terrorists. What is most disturbing is that all the old turf wars, somewhat eased in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, have resurfaced with all their destructive energy. The Treasury, Justice and State departments are fighting over who gets to do what where, and in the process spend a great deal of time battling each other rather than going after the money flows of al Qaeda, Hamas and others.

One exchange described in the report has a Treasury Department official complaining that the process for deterring terrorist financing abroad is "broken" and that the State Department "creates obstacles rather than coordinates efforts." A State Department official responded that the real problem is Treasury's unwillingness to accept State's lead role in the program.

While the report focuses on the U.S. efforts to train other countries in ways to combat terror finance, it confirms a larger problem within the administration, as described to me by people in government and those who served there for many years. There is simply little interest on following up on issues raised on terror finance, and almost no leadership provided by those who sit in the principals' meeting in funding, attacking or seriously focusing on the issue. The CIA, according to one source, still has noone dedicated to tracing terror finance issues, never mind a special unit.

The wind has gone out of the sails, as one former official recently told me (and the source is a Bush fan). Go here to read complete blog.