The Financing of Terror

’A fascinating piece of research’ – The Sunday Times 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.
Praise for James Adams ‘… one of the best works to appear on terrorism in a field often dominated by the hysterical and the ludicrous’ – The Spectator ‘A wealth of fascinating detail … this alone makes it indispensable … A harsh, sometimes devastating critique of anti-terrorist measures of Western governments and intelligence agencies.’ – Paul Wilkinson, Professor of International Relations, University of Aberdeen, author of Terrorism and the Liberal State ‘Solid and worthwhile’ – The Guardian ‘Too many journalists are respectful and too many ordinary men and women do not want to be bothered to help put terrorists down; so millions are threatened by self-perpetuating cliques … may help to rouse plain citizens to an only too plain danger’ – The Economist ‘Contains much useful data’ – The London Evening Standard ‘Fascinating at every turn … surprising’ – British Book News 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.