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How Europe Bankrolls Terror
WHEN northern Mali fell to terrorists and foreign militants last April, a debate began over the causes of the countrys chaotic collapse. Many argued that it was a direct byproduct of NATOs 2011 intervention in Libya, which sent thousands of well-armed men across the Sahara to Mali. Others pointed to Malis internal corruption and ethnic divisions. But little was said about the most important factor: Europeans have knowingly bankrolled Islamist radicals with ransom payments since at least 2003.Sixteen years before the 9/11 attacks, the United States sold Iran weapons indirectly in the hopes of freeing American hostages held by Irans proxy, Hezbollah. The Iran-contra debacle taught America, among other things, that paying ransom money only emboldens terrorist groups and their backers. Yet when confronted with the same challenge, European leaders have failed to heed that lesson, and have filled the coffers of terrorist groups for at least a decade. The so-called global war on terror has been hobbled by these payoffs. The same nations that until very recently had troops in Afghanistan fighting terrorism have been turning over cash to terrorists in Africa. Over the past decade, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands have paid more than $130 million to terrorist groups, mostly through mediators, to free European hostages. Posted by: tipper 2013-02-18 |
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