Homeland Security Today – news and analysis – Confluence of Evil: The Smuggling-Terrorism Nexus
Counterfeit consumer items, tobacco smuggling and the more sinister trade in narcotics are all sources of income for foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).
Terrorism takes cash, and even if the cost-benefit balance leans in favor of the terrorists—a handful of cheap explosives can cause millions in damages—investment is still required, and quite a bit of it. Sustainability is crucial to jihadists because they don’t perceive their jihad as a short-term conflict; rather, they see this as a long-term fight.
