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U.S. Has Crimped Al-Qaeda Funds

[Christian Science Monitor] Peter Grier - The U.S. has issued sanctions against 44 different charitable organizations under authority derived from an executive order signed by President Bush, according to Chip Poncy, director of strategic policy at the Treasury's Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes. Tackling the financial front of the struggle against terrorism appears to be successful, say experts. In part, this is due to the fact that the U.S. is a center of world commerce, and many global business transactions are carried out in dollars. Plus, even foreign banks generally do not want the taint of dealing with named terrorists. Thus, the world's formal financial system is now generally closed to al-Qaeda and other well-known terrorist groups. The CIA estimates that prior to Sept. 11, al-Qaeda was spending about $30 million per year. Since then, the U.S. has seized some $265 million in assets linked to the group - about nine years worth of operating expenses. The U.S. has also named some 460 individuals as terrorist supporters, and thus subject to sanctions. "It is premature to assume that terrorist organizations are having difficulty funding their organizations and operations," concludes a monograph on the subject issued by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. "What is important is that the global effort against terrorist financing has made it more expensive and more difficult to raise and move funds."
2007-10-31 01:00:00
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