{"id":208,"date":"2010-01-15T17:33:40","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T23:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/gazette\/2010\/01\/15\/100115_terrorfinancing\/"},"modified":"2010-01-15T17:33:40","modified_gmt":"2010-01-15T23:33:40","slug":"100115_terrorfinancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/2010\/01\/15\/100115_terrorfinancing\/","title":{"rendered":"“The intricate economics of terrorism”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Loretta Napoleoni<\/a> is an economist, journalist, political activist, and author. Her professional specialty is in the financing of terrorist activity, and how mainstream economic activity is affected by that financing. I found [via Bruce Schneier’s blog<\/a>] the following video of a speech given at the 2009 TEDGlobal Conference<\/a>, and it’s quite fascinating.<\/p>\n

In a relatively short amount of time, Napoleoni posits that (1) most terrorists couldn’t care less about the ideology of the group with which they’re aligned – they’re in it for much more self-serving reasons; (2) the pre-9\/11 US economy benefited greatly from money-laundering activities used to finance terrorist and criminal organizations around the world, because – let’s face it – everyone wants US dollars; and (3) the Patriot Act essentially shut down those money-laundering activities, causing a massive flight from the dollar to the Euro; Europe is now the center of those illicit activities, and is enjoying something of an economic boost as a result.<\/p>\n

If you can spare fifteen minutes to watch the following vid, I think you’ll be challenged by what you hear. I gained a new perspective on terrorism and the implications for how it might be more effectively fought…and perhaps why it’s not being fought equally on all fronts.<\/p>\n

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