CRJ 499 assignment 5

One way of combating terrorism is by focusing on how to combat terrorist financing. Intelligence agencies are working on how to freeze the assets of various terrorist financiers and support networks. However, there is still enough evidence to support the premise that individuals and entities provide material support to terror groups. According to (Amicelle, 2011), Saudi Arabia remains the key financier for terrorist groups such as Al-shaabab , al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia’s hefty military budget is a major indicator of the nation’s contributions in financing terrorist groups. In 2013, Saudi Arabia’s military budget was the highest the world totaling to $18.7 billion. It is ironical and illogical how such a huge budget can be used to finance her army that comprises of 200,000 soldiers and officers, while China with an armed force of over 2.4 million people is financed with a budget of $17 billion dollars.

Figure 1; Religiously Motivated Terrorist Attacks-source FBI 2011)

According to, social media provides a powerful platform for terrorists to plan, communicate, make and perpetuate propaganda and also recruit new sympathizers. Important to note, Saudi Arabia is one of the leading countries in religious extremism. Numerous studies have pointed out that religious extremism is a major motivating factor behind terrorism activities. Terrorists take advantage of the convenience brought by new technology to reach and radicalize large masses. The internet offers anonymity and this has greatly worked to the advantage of terrorists that aim at spreading their radicalizing messages but still remain undetected.

Figure 2. Tweets related to Islamic State (Feb. 2015 –INFOSEC)

These statistics indicate the role played by new technology, particularly social networks in the spread and sharing of propaganda and training materials (INFOSEC, 2016). The challenge is on the intelligence units and law enforcers to adopt new efficient measures on how to tract down such networks and take counter measures necessary for minimizing and eradicating the radicalization of the masses through the social networks.

References

Amicelle, A. (2011). The Great (Data) Bank Robbery: Terrorist Finance Tracking Program and the'Swift Affair'. Questions de recherche/Research Questions, Centre d'études et de recherches internationales (CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS).

Bjelopera. J.P (2011).Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Terrorism Investigations. U.S.A. Diane Publishing.Darby,

INFOSEC (2016). The Role of Technology in Modern Terrorism. Retrieved from: http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/the-role-of-technology-in-modern-terrorism/