How Serious is the Taliban's Cash Flow Problem?
By Evan Kohlmann
Several recent statements issued by such Al-Qaida luminaries as Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (Al-Qaida's former treasurer) have suggested that Al-Qaida and the Taliban may be suffering from at least a temporary shortfall in funding. In an audio recording released last month, Abu al-Yazid stated, "Jihad needs a lot of money, and the Jihad battlefields need much money." He continued, "Jihad with money is also an obligation. And here we, in the battlefield in Afghanistan, are lacking a lot of money and a weakness in operations because of lack of money, and many mujahideen are absent from Jihad because of lack or absence of money with which they can carry out Jihad. Even many brothers…who want to sacrifice themselves for the cause of Allah, we cannot prepare them because of lack of money."
The NEFA Foundation has now obtained a new online plea posted on a prominent jihadi forum by an individual claiming to be fighting alongside the Taliban, and offering similar sentiments. After discussing the plundering of trucks "carrying supplies for the heretics", the poster stated, "Let the brothers know that I published this news only after being asked by the leaders of the Taliban to do so, to publish this information so that the Muslims will know that we are in urgent need for money until we'll drive out the heretics... Some of the Taliban brothers went out with us with no weapon, since they have no money, I mean, 400 dollars to buy a Kalashnikov…There are some in the Taliban brotherhood who hold Kalashnikovs in one armory. They don't have money for bullets."
An English translation of the posting can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.
