TEDGlobal: The business of terrorism

Terrorism is extremely expensive, and economist and journalist Loretta Napoleoni found unexpected ways that it drives the world economy

Loretta Napoleoni at TEDGlobal 2009 Credit: TED / James Duncan Davidson

Like the fall of the Roman Empire, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communism brought about surge in the shadow economy, what economist and journalist Loretta Napoleoni calls the rogue economics of terror and criminal networks.

Former civilian senior Intelligence/Policy adviser to Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, detainee screen/interrogator, talks about former Iraqi regime and terrorism

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During a series of email and telephone exchanges Matthew Degn relayed to www.regimeofterror.com his vast array of experiences working with intelligence issues relating to the current and former situation in Iraq. Among his responsibilities during his years in Iraq Degn worked as a civilian interrogator attached to the U.S. Army in Iraq before working as a Senior Policy/Intelligence Adviser to Deputy General Kamal and other top intelligence officials with theIraq’s Ministry of Interior. Degn, currently working on a book about his experiences in Iraq (personal website here), continues to argue against those that feel there was no link between terrorism and Saddam Hussein’s regime based on his involvement with hundreds of interrogations in Iraq and his involvement with many of the Iraqi Intelligence officials with the Ministry of Interior. Degn says that much of the public perception about Saddam Hussein’s regime and terrorism are incorrect.

The UK and China

Kerry Brown

THE British Government released its “The UK and China: A Framework for Engagement” document with considerable fanfare earlier this year, just before Premier Wen Jiabao came to the UK. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband proudly put their signatures under bold-sounding statements about the UK extracting maximum benefit from its unique relationship with China. Brown’s leadership over the response to the banking crisis in late 2008 had won plaudits in China, as had the very fact that the UK had chosen China over all other countries to issue such a document about in the first place.

Strategic Insights 46 – North Korea: Sliding towards the abyss

Strategic Insights 46 – North Korea: Sliding towards the abyss

Thursday, 5 March 2009

North Korea, marginalised as an issue in recent years by a host of other problems, looks likely to return to the forefront of international concern in 2009. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already noted that North Korea might be sliding—much earlier than expected—into a leadership crisis.

Jemaah Islamiyah and Indonesian Terrorism: A renewed struggle?

Noor Huda Ismail and Carl Ungerer

The recent arrest near Johor Bahru, Malaysia of Mas Selamat Kastari, a fugitive Singaporean member of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group is an important achievement in the effort to stamp out Southeast Asian terrorism. Other actions by the Indonesian police over the past 18 months, including the arrest of JI members in Palembang and Central Java, have dealt a further blow to the organisation.

Kastari’s earlier escape from a Singaporean detention facility in February 2008 and his ability to evade the police and security services of both Singapore and Malaysia for over 12 months was less encouraging. It suggests that JI’s informal networks and support groups in the region remain active, and that many of them are probably unknown to the authorities.

But, despite several attempts, JI has failed to replicate the mass casualty attacks of the years between 2002 and 2005. And, in the absence of a renewed bombing campaign, questions have been raised concerning the nature of the continuing threat from JI as an organisation. The prevailing view among leading analysts is that the overall threat from JI is receding and that another campaign of expensive, large-scale bombings is unlikely.1

Suicide Bombers Jakarta, jihad vs. hirabah, insights on attacks & renouncers of violence

July 21, 7:28 PM

Suicide bomb blast in Jakarta

The suicide bomb attacks on the JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta last Friday have led to the deaths of nine people, including the two suicide bombers, according to the Indonesian police. Six of the people killed by the blast were foreigners. According to reports, forty two have been injured.

The Indonesian police and experts have suspected that the mastermind behind the attacks is Noordin Mohamed Top, a Malaysian national who has been a senior operational officer in the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a dangerous regional Southeast Asian terrorist group. The JI has also been suspected. Noordin Top may have broken from the JI to form his own group.

Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Financial Network Targets India from the Gulf States

Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 19

July 2, 2009 04:12 PM Age: 18 hrs

By: Animesh Roul

Hafeez Muhammad Saeed, Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba

An impending threat from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group has prompted security establishments to raise an alert along India’s western sea-coast. According to intelligence sources, the LeT’s marine wing is planning a Mumbai-type incursion to target vital installations in the three coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa. The group is also reported to have funneled huge amounts of money from its Gulf-based networks to fund jihad activities in India (Times of India, June 30).  This is not an isolated intelligence alert. The threat emanating from the LeT was partially revealed following the recent arrest of Muhammad Omar Madni, a close associate of LeT/Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed. The arrest and interrogation of Madni revealed several startling details, including new routes used by terrorists, the location of bases inside and outside India, terrorist finances, and the recruitment strategy of Lashkar-e-Taiba.