The Assumptions Behind the Assumptions in the War on Terror - Research Paper Example

?Introduction Post 9/11 era is an entirely different era as it changed many dimensions of the way international politics and security issues are being perceived now. The brutality with which this event was carried out by the group of terrorists gave a wakeup call to the free world to re-examine its priorities and its security infrastructure to make world more secure. There is a growing concern now to improve the existing physical security infrastructure as well as a need for a coordinated effort to curb the financing of the terrorism at the global level. One of the key objectives of America’s war on terror was to deny sponsorship to the terrorist organizations and weaker states. This objective therefore also necessitated that systems and procedures must be developed to ensure that terrorist funding is restricted. The subsequent experience in the Iraq War signified the role of combating the financing streams of the terrorists to cut off their vital source of survival. There is therefore a greater need to properly assess the financial threat terrorism can actually pose and how law enforcement agencies can actually achieve the objective of gathering credible financial intelligence to block the sources of finance for the terrorists. The corruption in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan is also resulting into indirect funding for the terrorists and terrorist organizations and as such there is a greater need to ensure that a proper financial threat assessment is made. This paper will investigate the need for financial threat assessment in war on terrorism with special emphasis on how corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan is actually contributing towards the proliferation of terrorism. The need for risk assessment Risk assessment is not a new phenomenon and every industry engages itself into conducting and performing risk assessment. As such considering the overall nature of the engagement, risk assessment can be either prospective or retrospective in nature. It is also important to note that risk assessment can be either qualitative or quantitative in nature and the resulting consequences of both the approaches can also be different. Retrospective risk assessment often draws data from the past and is based upon the historical data whereas the prospective risk assessment is always futuristic in nature and attempt to visualize the past and present a realistic framework for assessment. However, in order to capture maximum scenarios and comprehend a different array of risk events, it is important that a combination of both may be used. (Anderson, 2008) Financial threat assessment in the wake of the war on terrorism and how it can impact the overall effort by the world powers to curb terrorism therefore can be critical and requires a holistic approach and the involvement of different public sector entities to play their part. It is also critical to understand that this type of risk assessment should be part of the greater doctrine of the overall war. The financial threat assessment in the wake of the current war on terror therefore seems to have proper ideological backing to be carried out. (Amoore & de Goede, 2008) Methods One of the widely used financial instruments and methods of transferring funds is the use of cash as well as the negotiable bearer instruments. The use of cash is an obvious choice as it allows the terrorists to shy away from using the traditional banking channels and therefore avoid the risk of being detected. The use of cash and currency notes therefore leave no audit trail and thus virtually securing terrorists from being detected. The impracticality of holding large amounts of cash is also overtaken by the use of bearer negotiable instruments as they are easy to carry and are almost as good as cash is. One of the key features of bearer instruments is that they entitle the possessor of the instrument to receive the value written on the face of the instrument therefore bearer negotiable instruments are being easily used for the financing of terrorist activities. Not only the use of cash is considered as more preferred method by the terrorist organizations but the movement and smuggling of cash across and within borders is another important issue for the purpose of threat assessment. Cash trafficking often takes place either through the bulk transport of cash or by sending it through the cash couriers. The bulk smuggling of cash often also takes place through land as well as sea. Financial Threat Assessment The spread of globalization and inter-linking of international financial institutions has made the use of illegal means to transfer money easier. It has also, on the other hand, made it more complex for the law enforcement agencies to track such activities and transactions and siphon through the illegal transactions. Such complexity of the matter therefore add more woes to the policy making process and the overall implementation of the policy. (Kaplan, 2006) It is also important to note that the terrorists not only rely on the traditional sources of finances received as donations but also engage into the drug related trade and criminal activities. Over the period of time, increasing evidence has suggested the use of drug trade by Taliban and Al-Qaeda generated the required level of financing to sustain as terrorist organizations. During 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair maintained that the Taliban government is a government which has been maintained based on the fear and drug trade. This serious allegations suggested that Taliban government in Afghanistan, despite putting ban on opium use, was actually using the same to generate the require revenue and finances to fund not only the government but also the terrorist activities of Al-Qaeda at global level. Drug Trade as a source of finance The drug trade is considered as one of the most important sources of revenue for terrorists in Afghanistan. During the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, opium was officially banned, however evidence does suggests that the Taliban government failed to take any practical steps to either recapture the stored opium or effectively curb the production of opium. It was generally believed that the Taliban government not only used opium money to finance its own activities but also used it for the purpose of supporting extremist activities in other neighboring countries also such as Uzbekistan. It has been proven that AL-Qaeda’s link to the drug trade has largely sustained Al-Qaeda as a flourishing organization. Furthermore, it has been argued that Al-Qaeda provided protection to Afghan shipments of drugs which were sent to West (Perl, 2001) and there has been solid evidence of the use of drug money for the use of extremist activities. Overall cost of war Though the war on terror is still going on but the estimates suggest that the overall cost of the war is in billions. Some estimates suggest that the overall expenditure on the war on terror only in Iraq is in the proximity of 1000 billion dollars. Most of the money was spent in Iraq and rest went to Afghanistan. (Belasco, 2011) Such high inflow of funds to the countries like Afghanistan and Iraq also created an important need to ensure that the funds not only increase capabilities of such states but also necessitated the use of money to be spent on the creation of jobs and improving infrastructure. One of the key arguments during the war on terror is based on the assumption that the relative poverty of the people is forcing them to engage themselves into terrorist and criminal activities. Based on these assumptions, substantial amount of money was spent in the form of grant and other sources so that the overall standards of life can be improved. However, it has been reported that corruption especially in Afghanistan is leading towards the proliferation of terrorism. It has been reported that American money and NATO arms are going into the hand of Taliban and they are being used against the allied forces. It has also been reported that contracting work in the Afghanistan specially has been given to the companies with links with the militants. The above incidents therefore suggest that there is an effective need to ensure that effective risk management practices are in place to curb such activities. Need for Financial Threat Assessment One of the key advantages of conducting the financial threat assessment is identifying and predicting the nature of the crime and criminal activities besides gaining firsthand information as to how money laundering is used for this purpose. The financial threat assessment therefore allows law enforcement agencies to actually track down the sources of funds and can therefore potentially block them. It has been established that the sources of funding for the terrorist organizations not only come from the large scale money laundering and other activities but also through small level criminal activities too. The money obtained through such criminal activities often find its way back into the hands of the terrorist organizations therefore financial threat assessment may be considered as essential to assess the extent of terrorist financing. Corruption in Afghanistan and Iraq Though the war on terror is still going on but some estimates suggest that the overall cost of the war is in billions. Some estimates suggest that the overall expenditure on the war on terror only in Iraq is in the proximity of 1000 billion dollars. Most of the money was spent in Iraq and rest went to Afghanistan. (Belasco, 2011) Such high inflow of funds to the countries like Afghanistan and Iraq also created an important need to ensure that through these funds not only capabilities of such states are improved but money to be spent on the creation of jobs and improving infrastructure. One of the key arguments during the war on terror is based on the assumption that the relative poverty of the people is forcing them into terrorist and criminal activities. Based on these assumptions substantial amount of money was spent in the form of grants and other sources so that the overall standards of life can be improved in war ridden areas. It is critical to understand that Afghanistan specially is a country which is practically governed by many players despite the fact that there is a central government in Kabul. The corruption in Afghanistan due to involvement of warlords, drug traffickers, terrorists as well as government officials therefore is resulting into a widespread flow of funds to the entities and people who are supporters of war. What is critical to understand also is the fact that this sort of corruption is resulting into proliferation of corruption as money ultimately flows back into the hands of terrorists and terrorist organizations. It is also important to note that in Afghanistan specially, Taliban take extortion money from the traders as well as other businesses in order to provide them safe conduit or protection. Apart from this, the natural resources of Afghanistan are being used for the benefit of individuals thus effectively funds are channeled back to the people who are either direct or indirect cause of war in Afghanistan.1 Institutionalization of the financial risk assessment and counter threat finance Counter threat finance and the effective restriction of the flow of finance for the purpose of terrorist activities require an effective risk management infrastructure in place. Since finance and money works as one of the fundamental parts of the conventional warfare therefore it is important to control the flow of finance and money to the adversaries of any state during a war. (Capaccio, 2008) A well planned risk assessment would include understanding the sources of the revenue as well as how funds are channeled through the traditional as well as non-traditional sources of finance. It is also important to note that the financial threat assessment should not just be limited to the evaluation of the cash and cash equivalent outcomes of the transactions passing through the formal banking channels. It should also include a systematic review of the trade related channels too to assess as to how the overall flow of funds takes place. (Amoore & de Goede, 2008) Implications for future The above discussion therefore suggests that terrorist organizations are sophisticated in the way they operate and move their funds to finance their activities. Multi-faceted nature of war on terror therefore made it necessary for the law enforcement agencies to actually look for better assessment of not only the security threats but also the financial threat assessments too. This is critical in the sense that it can allow law enforcement agencies to become better equipped to track down the terrorist activities. This also requires effective legislation however, extensive legislation and strict controls in this regard may serve as deterrent for the society as a whole. The increasing complexity of the global trade has made the banking sector of the world a connected network in which millions of dollars move from one country to another every day. Restricting such flows through strict controls and procedures therefore may hinder the movement of geniune capital across borders. Conclusion Global war on terror is not a new phenomenon as it started in the wake of attacks on American soil. The sheer intensity and size of the incident required US to partner with different allies and start a war on enemies to punish those who were responsible for this. Though 9/11 was carried out by bunch of few individuals but behind those incidents were a long trail of organizations and individuals who were actively involved in providing support to the people responsible for carrying out these attacks. A closer analysis of the war on terror and the stakeholders in this war would suggest that terrorist networks are advanced networks with many nodes responsible for different tasks. Since finance and money is considered as the most important part of this war, it is therefore important to ensure that necessary risk assessment procedures and threat assessment are done in order to block the flow of funds to the terrorist organizations. The huge inflow of funds to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan has also resulted into funds being diverted to the use of terrorist organizations. Such nature of the war on terror therefore suggests that an effective threat assessment is necessary. In order to comprehensively perform this assessment, it is important to develop systems and procedures to block the flow of finances and materials to such organizations. Besides, understanding the command and control mechanism as well as business operations of such organizations can also provide effective means to assess such threat. Bibliography Amoore, L., & de Goede, M. (2008). Risk and the war on terror. New York: Taylor & Francis. Anderson, K. (2008). The Assumptions Behind the Assumptions in the War on Terror: Risk Assessment as an Example of Foundational Disagreement in Counterterrorism Policy. Wayne Law Review, 54(1), 505-535. Belasco, A. (2011, March 29). The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from Congressional Research Service: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf Capaccio, T. (2008, December 11). U.S. Military to Target Terror Finance Networks. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aWCdqrmv031g Kaplan, E. (2006, April 4). Tracking Down Terrorist Financing. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from Council on Foreign Relations: http://www.cfr.org/international-crime/tracking-down-terrorist-financing/p10356 Mahajan, R. (2002). The New Crusade: America's War on Terrorism. New York: Monthly Review Press. Martinage, R. C. (2011, Feb 28). The Global War on Terrorism- An Assessment. Retrieved September 14, 2011, from CSBA: http://www.csbaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2008.02.23-The-Global-War-on-Terrorism.pdf Perl, R. F. (2001, October 5). Taliban and the drug trade. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from Congressional Research Service: http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/6210.pdf Read More