Tuesday December 19, 2006
Going After the FARC is Important in Terrorism Fight
The indictment of 50 top leaders of Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is a sign of the increasing importance U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities are placing on the extensive possibilities that the flow of FARC's illicit money provides to aid other terrorist organizations, including Islamic radicals.
Some intelligence efforts have been focused on the tri-border area of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. But until recently no consenus had emerged in the intelligence or law enforcement communities over the existence of links between Islamic terrorism and the massive amount of drug trafficking revenues, comingled with tens of millions of dollars from contraband and counterfeit goods, that flow through the region.
There has been no solid evidence that the financial network of the FARC overlaps with the Islamic groups. While it is difficult to imagine that there are clear barriers to doing business when that much money is in play, so little is known from human intelligence that the reporting has been weak for years. That could be changing.
Because the amounts of money sloshing through the illicit money channels in Latin America are so large-billions from FARC-controlled cocaine and heroin trafficking, many millions more from other criminal activities-it is impossible to trace where the money goes.
A host of financial institutions, from banks to informal exchange houses to merchants willing to sell their products for cash, all help launder the funds. This needs to be juxaposed with another reality which is often overlooked or ignored: There have been many signs of radical Islamic activity in the tri-border region, from the reported visit of Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 1995 to 1999 arrests of several al Qaeda-linked operatives in the region.
The ethnic Lebanese community sends money back to Hezbollah, as to the communities of West Africa, Panama and elsewhere. Iran, with the help of Hezbollah operatives, have carried out several attacks against Jewish facilities in Argentina. Hamas is believed to make millions off of counterfeit goods in the region.
Investigators are now finding that some of the banks and financial institutions that handle the rivers of dirty money also have possible accounts of leaders of the international Muslim Brotherhood, and through those accounts, channel funds to radical Islamic organizations, including al Qaeda.
What is possibly more disturbing is that the banks operate a network of shell companies in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, using the system perfected by the Brotherhood in Europe and Africa. This makes following the money difficult and understanding the financial movements almost impossible. For several decades Yousef Nada and other leaders of the Brotherhood have shown how successful this formula is. In emerging regions of the world, where corporate registeries are antiquated and laws obsolete, it is even easier to do.
This does not necessarily mean that the FARC is directly or even indirectly funding Islamic radicals. But, as recent events have shown, the intelligence community has long underestimated the willingness of Islamic radicals to deal with infidels. What it could mean is that going after the FARC's financial infrastructure in Latin America could have the unexpected but positive result of damaging the structures that also facilitate the movement of funds by al Qaeda and others.
Some intelligence efforts have been focused on the tri-border area of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. But until recently no consenus had emerged in the intelligence or law enforcement communities over the existence of links between Islamic terrorism and the massive amount of drug trafficking revenues, comingled with tens of millions of dollars from contraband and counterfeit goods, that flow through the region.
There has been no solid evidence that the financial network of the FARC overlaps with the Islamic groups. While it is difficult to imagine that there are clear barriers to doing business when that much money is in play, so little is known from human intelligence that the reporting has been weak for years. That could be changing.
Because the amounts of money sloshing through the illicit money channels in Latin America are so large-billions from FARC-controlled cocaine and heroin trafficking, many millions more from other criminal activities-it is impossible to trace where the money goes.
A host of financial institutions, from banks to informal exchange houses to merchants willing to sell their products for cash, all help launder the funds. This needs to be juxaposed with another reality which is often overlooked or ignored: There have been many signs of radical Islamic activity in the tri-border region, from the reported visit of Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 1995 to 1999 arrests of several al Qaeda-linked operatives in the region.
The ethnic Lebanese community sends money back to Hezbollah, as to the communities of West Africa, Panama and elsewhere. Iran, with the help of Hezbollah operatives, have carried out several attacks against Jewish facilities in Argentina. Hamas is believed to make millions off of counterfeit goods in the region.
Investigators are now finding that some of the banks and financial institutions that handle the rivers of dirty money also have possible accounts of leaders of the international Muslim Brotherhood, and through those accounts, channel funds to radical Islamic organizations, including al Qaeda.
What is possibly more disturbing is that the banks operate a network of shell companies in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, using the system perfected by the Brotherhood in Europe and Africa. This makes following the money difficult and understanding the financial movements almost impossible. For several decades Yousef Nada and other leaders of the Brotherhood have shown how successful this formula is. In emerging regions of the world, where corporate registeries are antiquated and laws obsolete, it is even easier to do.
This does not necessarily mean that the FARC is directly or even indirectly funding Islamic radicals. But, as recent events have shown, the intelligence community has long underestimated the willingness of Islamic radicals to deal with infidels. What it could mean is that going after the FARC's financial infrastructure in Latin America could have the unexpected but positive result of damaging the structures that also facilitate the movement of funds by al Qaeda and others.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
Bad News for Viktor Bout
In an interesting development, the European Union has issued an aviation "black list" of 92 companies-including several linked to Viktor Bout-banning them from operating in EU territory. The BBC reports that the measures are taken for safety reasons. "The European Union now has a coherent approach to banning airlines," said Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the Commission for transport. "This blacklist will keep dubious airlines out of Europe. It will also make sure that all airlines operating in Europe's sky meet the highest safety standards."
The list of companies includes all airlines operating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Swaziland, bastions of allowing criminals and terrorists to use their national registries. It is not clear how many of these companies actually flew into the EU to begin with, but the list is a first step in helping to clean up the notoriously lax international aviation system.
Among the companies are several that have been flagged by the U.N. or government investigators as belonging to Bout's empire, which seems to have moved much of its registrations out of Africa and into the former Soviet republics. Those banned include Reem Air and Phoenix Aviation of Kyrghizstan, GST Aero Air of Kazakhstan, along with several suspected Bout companies in Sierra Leone. International aviation officials have long talked of going after Bout's planes not as a criminal procedure matter, but on safety grounds. This appears to be the first step in a campaign against Bout and other operators that facilitate the movement of weapons on behalf of non-state armed actors, including radical Islamic groups.
Bout, however, continues to fly for the U.S. Pentagon into Iraq, according to sources on the ground in Iraq and a close Bout associate. This seems to insure that he will not face financial difficulties any time soon, despite a U.S Treasury Deparment order making it illegal to do business with Bout or any of his associated companies. And despite Bout's documented ties to the Taliban and other radical Islamic groups.
His alleged U.S. partner, Richard Chichakli, has recently been seen in Moscow, where both Viktor and his brother Sergei hang out. Bout is unlikely to forgo his Russian protection and U.S. contracts any time soon.
The list of companies includes all airlines operating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Swaziland, bastions of allowing criminals and terrorists to use their national registries. It is not clear how many of these companies actually flew into the EU to begin with, but the list is a first step in helping to clean up the notoriously lax international aviation system.
Among the companies are several that have been flagged by the U.N. or government investigators as belonging to Bout's empire, which seems to have moved much of its registrations out of Africa and into the former Soviet republics. Those banned include Reem Air and Phoenix Aviation of Kyrghizstan, GST Aero Air of Kazakhstan, along with several suspected Bout companies in Sierra Leone. International aviation officials have long talked of going after Bout's planes not as a criminal procedure matter, but on safety grounds. This appears to be the first step in a campaign against Bout and other operators that facilitate the movement of weapons on behalf of non-state armed actors, including radical Islamic groups.
Bout, however, continues to fly for the U.S. Pentagon into Iraq, according to sources on the ground in Iraq and a close Bout associate. This seems to insure that he will not face financial difficulties any time soon, despite a U.S Treasury Deparment order making it illegal to do business with Bout or any of his associated companies. And despite Bout's documented ties to the Taliban and other radical Islamic groups.
His alleged U.S. partner, Richard Chichakli, has recently been seen in Moscow, where both Viktor and his brother Sergei hang out. Bout is unlikely to forgo his Russian protection and U.S. contracts any time soon.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
Liberia Formally Requests Taylor's Extradition
A spokesman for Nigerian president Obasanjo today said that Liberia has formally requested the extradition of Charles Taylor.
Obasanjo's spokeswoman Remi Oyo said in a statement that Johnson-Sirleaf had asked Nigerian to return Taylor and that the president would give his response to the request after consulting fellow African leaders. If successful, Taylor will then be turned over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone to stand trial on 17 counts of crimes against humanity.
It is a brave and important step for Liberia's new president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and a tribute to steadfast, biparisan group in the U.S. Congress led by Ed Royce (R-Ca), who have kept the issue of Taylor's extradition on the front burner despite little more than pro forma support from the White House and a large dose of apathy in most of their collegues. What is significant in a time when few in Congress get credit for doing anything that does not bring immediate electoral gain, Mssrs. Royce, Wolf, Feingold and others have pressed an issue that will probably not change one vote back home. But it is the right thing to do, and they have done it.
The big hurdle will now rest with the African leaders Obasanjo is "consulting" on whether to honor the request, a request he has consistently said he would honor if made by an elected government in Liberia. Now, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf has fulfilled her historic obligation on this issue. The question is whether the rest of the "Big Men" of Africa, whose culture of mutual protection is largely responsible for the culture of impunity and corruption that is eroding the continent, will rise to the occassion.
Obasanjo's spokeswoman Remi Oyo said in a statement that Johnson-Sirleaf had asked Nigerian to return Taylor and that the president would give his response to the request after consulting fellow African leaders. If successful, Taylor will then be turned over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone to stand trial on 17 counts of crimes against humanity.
It is a brave and important step for Liberia's new president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and a tribute to steadfast, biparisan group in the U.S. Congress led by Ed Royce (R-Ca), who have kept the issue of Taylor's extradition on the front burner despite little more than pro forma support from the White House and a large dose of apathy in most of their collegues. What is significant in a time when few in Congress get credit for doing anything that does not bring immediate electoral gain, Mssrs. Royce, Wolf, Feingold and others have pressed an issue that will probably not change one vote back home. But it is the right thing to do, and they have done it.
The big hurdle will now rest with the African leaders Obasanjo is "consulting" on whether to honor the request, a request he has consistently said he would honor if made by an elected government in Liberia. Now, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf has fulfilled her historic obligation on this issue. The question is whether the rest of the "Big Men" of Africa, whose culture of mutual protection is largely responsible for the culture of impunity and corruption that is eroding the continent, will rise to the occassion.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
Johnson-Sirleaf Offers Little Assurance on Taylor
Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf addressed a joint session of Congress today, but offered only oblique assurances that she will seek the extradition of former strongman Charles Taylor, who not only wreaked incalculable damage on West Africa but also aided and abetted al Qaeda and Hezbollah.
In a followup interview on CNN, she declined to say she would ask Nigeria to extradite Taylor from his luxurious exile to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, but also did not rule it out. She simply said that discussions were ongoing and that U.S. aid was not conditioned on Taylor's extradition.
The key passage of her speech said that "While we seek national unity and reconciliation, we must not sacrifice justice. I respect the life-saving role that our West African neighbors, particularly Nigeria, played at no small cost to them in accepting to host Mr. Charles Taylor. Liberians are deeply grateful. But I say here, as I have said before, Liberia has little option but to see that justice is done in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations and the broad international community."
What does that mean? It is not clear. Johnson-Sirleaf clearly has her hands full with the nation's multiple, seemingly-insurmountable problems. Nothing in her country works, from hospitals to electricity to schools.
But key Congressional leaders are not willing to let the Taylor issue slide, particularly while Johnson-Sirleaf enjoys strong international support and the presence of thousands of UN peacekeepers who can help maintain stability if Taylor can still whip up trouble. She cannot count on Congress not imposing some conditionality on her desperately-needed aid much longer.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, is again taking the lead on pressing the Taylor issue.
"Taylor remains a threat to the region and an affront to justice. Many have been waiting for President Johnson-Sirleaf to call President Obasanjo on his commitment. We're still waiting," Royce said. Let's hope the wait is not too long.
In a followup interview on CNN, she declined to say she would ask Nigeria to extradite Taylor from his luxurious exile to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, but also did not rule it out. She simply said that discussions were ongoing and that U.S. aid was not conditioned on Taylor's extradition.
The key passage of her speech said that "While we seek national unity and reconciliation, we must not sacrifice justice. I respect the life-saving role that our West African neighbors, particularly Nigeria, played at no small cost to them in accepting to host Mr. Charles Taylor. Liberians are deeply grateful. But I say here, as I have said before, Liberia has little option but to see that justice is done in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations and the broad international community."
What does that mean? It is not clear. Johnson-Sirleaf clearly has her hands full with the nation's multiple, seemingly-insurmountable problems. Nothing in her country works, from hospitals to electricity to schools.
But key Congressional leaders are not willing to let the Taylor issue slide, particularly while Johnson-Sirleaf enjoys strong international support and the presence of thousands of UN peacekeepers who can help maintain stability if Taylor can still whip up trouble. She cannot count on Congress not imposing some conditionality on her desperately-needed aid much longer.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, is again taking the lead on pressing the Taylor issue.
"Taylor remains a threat to the region and an affront to justice. Many have been waiting for President Johnson-Sirleaf to call President Obasanjo on his commitment. We're still waiting," Royce said. Let's hope the wait is not too long.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
The Last Dance For Taylor?
It looks like Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has decided the time to get Charles Taylor to the Special Court in Sierra Leone may be now. Of course, we have seen various steps in this dance before, and ultimately Taylor remains in Nigeria and justice is thawarted. I am not overly optimistic the case will be different this time.
However, there are some important changes from the past. Various press reports tell of Nigerian president Obasanjo and South African president Mbeki meeting to discuss handing Taylor over to the Special Court. Today, the Liberian government officially acknowledged for the first time that Liberia was looking for a way to extradite Taylor from his luxurious exile in Calabar, Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Monrovia, the Liberian government said that it, in conjunction with Nigeria, it is seeking a solution that will be "acceptable to the international community, the United Nations and at the same time guarantee the rights of Mr. Taylor's under international law."
In a demonstration of just how well connected Taylor remains in some quarters of the Obasanjo administration, it was Taylor's spokesman, Sylvester Paasewe, who initially said that Liberia has made an extradition request. He stated, erroneously, that Taylor's assylum agreement, which Taylor has so far violated with impunity, precludes him standing trial for his crimes against humanity, terrorist connections with al Qaeda and Hezbollah, and looting of the Liberian national treasury.
But it is worth noting who first went public with the information, which one would think was being handled out of the public eye until are resolution is reached. Taylor's (sometimes) estranged wife Jewell, now a member of Liberian Congress, also went public with news of the extradition request.
West African leaders have long said that they must take the lead in dealing with Taylor and other regional crises. Now is the time that will put to the test whether, in the changing world, big men on the continent continue to protect each other, or whether there is finally a glimmer of hope in ending the long and debilitating cycle of impunity that has helped condemn the region to poverty, war, disease and dispair. The final dance steps remain to be finished.
However, there are some important changes from the past. Various press reports tell of Nigerian president Obasanjo and South African president Mbeki meeting to discuss handing Taylor over to the Special Court. Today, the Liberian government officially acknowledged for the first time that Liberia was looking for a way to extradite Taylor from his luxurious exile in Calabar, Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Monrovia, the Liberian government said that it, in conjunction with Nigeria, it is seeking a solution that will be "acceptable to the international community, the United Nations and at the same time guarantee the rights of Mr. Taylor's under international law."
In a demonstration of just how well connected Taylor remains in some quarters of the Obasanjo administration, it was Taylor's spokesman, Sylvester Paasewe, who initially said that Liberia has made an extradition request. He stated, erroneously, that Taylor's assylum agreement, which Taylor has so far violated with impunity, precludes him standing trial for his crimes against humanity, terrorist connections with al Qaeda and Hezbollah, and looting of the Liberian national treasury.
But it is worth noting who first went public with the information, which one would think was being handled out of the public eye until are resolution is reached. Taylor's (sometimes) estranged wife Jewell, now a member of Liberian Congress, also went public with news of the extradition request.
West African leaders have long said that they must take the lead in dealing with Taylor and other regional crises. Now is the time that will put to the test whether, in the changing world, big men on the continent continue to protect each other, or whether there is finally a glimmer of hope in ending the long and debilitating cycle of impunity that has helped condemn the region to poverty, war, disease and dispair. The final dance steps remain to be finished.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH