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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Who's funding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ???? |
| 2004-05-12 |
| I don’t have a URL but I don’t see any good analysis on this and I wonder if anyone else has. al-Zarqawi doesn’t need much money for video and he doesn’t need much money for food and I think he probably has plenty of stockpiled bombs. However, he needs money, probably a lot of money, to pay his lackeys enough to avoid them going to the coalition for the reward money; he also probably needs to bribe whoever he is staying with to keep quiet. Even more, he needs real money not the old dinar. Its not easy to get lots of money in Iraq these days for al Q on its own because of all the currency and banking controls. There must be: 1. couriers (we apparently caught a few of these but they either didn’t know where al-Z was or didn’t tell us soon enough) 2. sources giving to couriers - do some rich Saudis still contribute to this kind of thing even with the heat they must be feeling these days; could Iran be risking totally ticking off the Shia or Iraq by funding this guy; could he have gold bars stolen (or donated) from the Baathists; could their be a rouge leftist coalition in the west that is donating in the hopes of killing Americans? |
| Posted by:mhw |
| #5 The Saudis and the Iranians. Why do you ask? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-05-12 10:46:13 PM |
| #4 Ed/Dutchgeek I think the situation is a bit different today than when Ledeen wrote his article (which was before the ouster of Saddam after all). I don't doubt that mosques collect money and some of the money thus collected goes to terrorism. I don't doubt that Al Q makes $ off drug sales. However, shipping currency to Iraq isn't the same now as it was back then. For one thing Saddam's not in charge. For another thing the currency itself has changed. The banking system in Iraq has some semblance of controls and there are people on the border watching for currency and drugs both going in and going out. By the way, using internal Iraqi drug sales to finance terrorism ops is very, very risky since dopers talk easily. More importantly, in 2003, Al Z didn't have as heavy a cost problem (the cost of contented lackeys); the reward for capturing him is pretty recent. |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-05-12 2:30:51 PM |
| #3 Ledeen Feb. 2003 article: Important orders came via courier from Iran, as did money and forged documents. And, on at least three known occasions, the head of Zarqawi's German operation traveled to Iran to meet with Zarqawi in order to get instructions. Read the whole thing. A lot of interesting stuff. I also remenber reading a few days ago a Zarqawi meatbomb was arrested (a year ago?) in Germany and was turned to give testimony against other terrorists. He said that mosques in Europe were collecting cash and couriers were smuggling it to Al Qaeda, Al Taweed (Zarqawi), and Palestinian groups. Then of course there is the traditional Middle East mosque and charity funding . |
| Posted by: ed 2004-05-12 1:40:40 PM |
| #2 http://www.washtimes.com/national/20031229-120302-2009r.htm Drugs.... |
| Posted by: Dutchgeek 2004-05-12 1:27:58 PM |
| #1 It's da dope.... |
| Posted by: Dutchgeek 2004-05-12 1:25:57 PM |