Terrorist Financing: Report of an Independent Task Force Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (Council on Foreign Relations (Council on Foreign Relations Press))

The Council on Foreign Relations established its Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing to evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to disrupt terrorist financing. The Task Force found that although al-Qaeda's finances have been disrupted, they have not been destroyed - and that as long as al-Qaeda retains access to a viable financial network, it will remain a lethal threat to the United States. Al-Qaeda's financial network is characterized by layers and redundancies, raising and moving money internationally in a variety of manners. For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al-Qaeda. And for years, Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem. Following September 11, 2001, the U.S. government undertook many successful initiatives to curtail the financing of terrorism. Fundamentally, however, U.S. efforts remain impeded by a lack of political will among U.S. allies. Confronted with this lack of political will, the Bush administration appears to have made a policy decision not to use the full power of U.S. influence to pressure other governments to combat terrorist financing more effectively. Present efforts are not commensurate with the ongoing threat to U.S. national security. With this core finding in mind, this Task Force report offers a number of specific recommendations to assure a more effective U.S. and international response. The Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing finds that although al-Qaeda's financial network has been disrupted, it has not been destroyed and therefore continues to threaten U.S. security. The Task Force recommends that the president designate a Special Assistant to the President for Combating Terrorist Financing, and that the United States lead international efforts to establish an organization dedicated to investigating terrorist financing The Task Force report describes the complex nature of the financial network sustaining al-Qaeda and the obstacles to dismantling it, and it acknowledges that the only realistic goal is to curb rather than completely cut off terrorist funding. It finds that U.S. efforts to curtail terrorist financing are impeded not only by a lack of institutional capacity abroad, but, critically, by a lack of political will among U.S. allies