U.S. Should Establish Threat Finance Cells to Monitor Hezbollah's Worldwide Activities

By Andrew Cochran

In my opinion, the single most effective counter-measure that the U.S. government has taken against terrorist financing in the past three to four years was to integrate counter-terrorist financing theory and techniques into the worldwide counterinsurgency efforts of the Pentagon, especially in Iraq. This website was the first to report the establishment of the joint Defense Department - Treasury Department "threat finance cells" in Iraq, which successfully interrupted terrorists' funding flows. The concept is inexpensive and simple in concept: Treasury Department personnel trained in banking operations and in recognizing money laundering and terrorist financing techniques work side by side with military personnel to identify the sources and methods of a given terrorist cell in a selected area. I expect Gen. Petraeus to expand the concept into Afghanistan after he takes over CENTCOM on Friday.

Knowledgeable Treasury personnel can also be located in embassies in countries in which terrorist groups have an expanding presence but in which there are no U.S. military operations. So Doug Farah's post about the presence of Hezbollah in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America leads me to this recommendation: the State and Treasury Department appropriations bills for FY 2009, which have not been passed in final form by the Congress, should include sufficient funds to establish jointly operated State-Treasury threat finance cells to monitor Hezbollah wherever they operate. Wherever they go, we should be, to identify their fundraising methods and level of investments, and to develop appropriate counter-measures. The FY 2010 Defense appropriations bill should then include funding for threat finance cell operations worldwide. If fully funded and quickly established with capable personnel, these joint operations will provide actionable intelligence on Hezbollah's personnel, activities, and international communications structure.

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