The Financing of Terror
By James Adams
Terrorism costs money.
Without it, today’s organised, hi-tech terrorism simply couldn’t exist.
Sophisticated weapons, training, safe houses and living expenses, international travel, false identities and documents…
Modern day terrorism is expensive. The days when a few idealists would reach into their own pockets or the local supporters have a whip-round are long gone.
Fund raising has become large scale and professional. The more successful a terror group, the more income is generated. The more active a group, the more money is needed.
In the mass of literature about terrorism, one essential aspect has so far been ignored – money, despite the fact that there is an annual worldwide terrorist budget in excess of $1 billion.
So where does the money come from? And how is it raised and passed on?
James Adams has untangled the financial threads, the supply lines, of modern terrorism world-wide, to demonstrate with a clear, cold logic just who is responsible for The Financing of Terror and so ultimately for the terrorism itself.
One of these is the Soviet Union and while suggestions of a global conspiracy are an exaggeration, Russia and her allies have certainly encouraged instability in the West and the Third World.
The extreme right-wing and fascist groups are all considered with equal thoroughness and the IRA is scrutinised particularly closely.
In this fascinating and shocking work, Adams looks at counter-terrorism, assessing how effectively different governments combat the problem and how much money they are prepared to spend.
The Financing of Terror is a comprehensive and unsettling study on the history of global terrorism.
James Adams was born in Newcastle in 1951 and educated at Harrow and Neuchatel University. He was trained as a journalist on the Evening Chronicle, Newcastle, and after a period working in Africa and the USA became chief reporter and then news editor on 8 Days, a magazine specialising in the Middle East. He has held various positions with The Sunday Times including Defence Correspondent. He is married and living in London.
