Terrorists and organized crime join forces
Rollie Lal International Herald Tribune
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2005
ARLINGTON, Virginia Terrorist groups and organized crime networks are
increasingly working together, strengthening their ability to inflict harm on
law-abiding societies with conventional weapons today, and possibly with
nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the future.
Terrorists and criminals have long been considered separate and distinct
threats, with terrorists motivated by ideology and criminals by greed. But
recent attacks suggest that criminal networks and terrorist groups are teaming
up with growing regularity for their mutual benefit.
In fact, in some cases terrorists and criminals appear to be deeply
intertwined in ways that go well beyond fleeting alliances of convenience. The
Dubai-based Indian criminal Aftab Ansari is believed to have used ransom money
he earned from kidnappings to help fund the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
And some people, like the Pakistan-based Indian crime boss Dawood Ibrahim, even
go on to pursue dual careers as both criminal and terrorist leaders.
The connections between the two networks exist on a variety of levels -
from purely tactical to strategic - including logistical support in weapons
procurement, shared routes, training and some ideological overlap. As a result,
in some areas it may be impossible to destroy the logistical network supporting
terrorist groups without striking major blows at supporting criminal networks.
In South Asia and the Middle East in particular, a variety of criminal
and terrorist organizations have been known to collaborate in international
operations. The recent disclosure of the role of criminal syndicates in the
nuclear smuggling network of the Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is a
prime example of this troubling trend.
Nuclear transfers from Pakistan to North Korea, Libya, and Iran could not
have occurred without the assistance of criminal networks. Khan used false
papers and front companies in several countries to transfer the nuclear
technology to other nations, and used government cargo planes to assist in
deliveries to North Korea. These channels raise concerns that the inability of
authorities to interrupt cooperation between organized crime and terrorist
groups could lead to more dangerous nuclear transfers in the future.
Khan's middleman was a Dubai-based Sri Lankan businessman, Buhary Ayed
Abu Tahir. He arranged for a Malaysian company to manufacture nuclear
components for shipping to Libya, and for Libyan technicians to be trained in
the use of machines that were part of the nuclear program. Tahir also assisted
Khan in the transfer of centrifuge units from Pakistan to Iran.
Even if states agree to international nonproliferation treaties, the
existence of criminal networks engaged in nuclear trade could allow
proliferation to continue. Without knowledge of where these networks operate
and who is involved, interdiction becomes extremely difficult.
At the tactical level, terrorist groups rely on organized crime networks
to provide them with the necessary weaponry and munitions to undertake massive
attacks and insurgencies. The routes that have been carefully constructed by
criminal networks can also be extremely useful for transporting goods on behalf
of terrorist groups.
For their part, criminal gangs can turn to terrorist groups to provide
needed training in the use of guns and explosives, and also to provide safe
passage through terrorist-controlled territory for a price.
Criminal syndicates in the Middle East and South Asia are also closely
connected to terrorist groups via the illegal drug trade. Money earned from
drug trafficking supports both criminal and terrorist activity.
Criminal organizations can become ideological over time, following the
paths of terrorist groups. In South Asia, for example, some criminal
organizations have come to acquire ideological or religious predispositions
that motivate their actions, not merely cover them.
Terrorist groups will be able to continue operations as long as they can
acquire the needed weaponry, financing and personnel. Closing this access is
difficult, but crucial.
In addition to military cooperation to interdict terrorists, much more
attention needs to be paid to promoting the rule of law, combating corruption
and improving judicial proceedings in areas where terrorists have taken refuge.
Police capabilities in urban areas need to be much improved if they are
to locate and disrupt criminal networks. International cooperation on
extradition laws must also be strengthened, so that criminals cannot easily
elude arrest by fleeing the country.
The linkages between the criminal and terror groups allow terror networks
to expand and undertake large attacks internationally by leveraging criminal
sources, money and transit routes. Identifying the cooperative activities
between the two networks - both tactical and more enduring - is critical to
ending the financial and supply lines that support both sets of groups.
Underestimating their bonds could prove disastrous.
(Rollie Lal is a political scientist at RAND Corp.)
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