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Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror
(New York Times) Rukmini Callimachi - Kidnapping Europeans for ransom has become a global business for al-Qaeda, bankrolling its operations across the globe. While European governments deny paying ransoms, an investigation by the New York Times found that al-Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just last year. The U.S. Treasury Department has cited ransom amounts that total $165 million over the same period. Counterterrorism officials now believe al-Qaeda finances the bulk of its recruitment, training and arms purchases from ransoms paid to free Europeans, making Europe the inadvertent underwriter of al-Qaeda.