Breaking the Terror Finance Code
By Matthew Levitt
Among the many tools available to the US government and our international partners to combat terror financing, leveraging financial intelligence is often overlooked by the public and the press.
Buried deep in the U.S. State Department's 335-page report on terrorism in 2006, released this week, is a brief section on "countering terrorism on the economic front." It offers a comprehensive outline of the government's successful efforts to block funding of terrorists and their supporters but makes no mention of any other tools used to combat terror financing. The public is left to believe that overt actions like designations are the sum total of U.S. and international efforts to combat terror financing when, in fact, they are only the most visible. One critical tool that is particularly effective at preventing attacks and identifying previously unknown operatives is collecting financial intelligence. Consider, for instance, the British experience.
My complete UPI "Outside View" oped is available here
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