Astrid, impresionante artículo, como resultado diría yo lo que aquí ya se ha afirmado repetidas veces, lo que aplica el Estado Islámico es una interpretación del Islam, no una locura cualquiera, sino una interpretación tan legítima como otras. Por mucho que nos gustara, afirmar que la interpretación correcta del Islam es aquella que que habla de paz y convivencia es una quimera.
Todo sobre ISIS/Estado Islámico - Aquí
- AutorFeliz
- Fecha de inicio
Astrid, impresionante artículo, como resultado diría yo lo que aquí ya se ha afirmado repetidas veces, lo que aplica el Estado Islámico es una interpretación del Islam, no una locura cualquiera, sino una interpretación tan legítima como otras. Por mucho que nos gustara, afirmar que la interpretación correcta del Islam es aquella que que habla de paz y convivencia es una quimera.
Me alegro que te resultara interesante el analisis de Graeme Woods sobre la evolucion del movimiento jihadista o fundamentalista islamico comenzando por Al-Qaeda (1998 a 2003) a lo que conocemos hoy por ISIS, su ideologia y sus peligrosas provocaciones. Coincido que hablar de paz y de convivencia con estos grupos que cada vez se vuelven mas violentos y adquieren mas fuerza es una quimera.
- Registrado
- 16 Mar 2013
- Mensajes
- 7.584
- Calificaciones
- 26.300
http://nationalreport.net/hollywood-studio-caught-producing-isis-videos/
Hollywood Studio Caught Producing ISIS Videos
<National Report>
Shockwaves are being felt all throughout Tinseltown today as federal authorities moved to arrest several who are accused of aiding and abetting a foreign terrorist organization by producing ISIS recruitment videos.
It had long been suspected that the ISIS videos were produced from an outside source due to their above average production value, but no one had imagined an American production company could somehow be involved.
That changed last night, when authorities moved in and raided Final Solution Productions, a production company off the famous intersection of Sunset and Vine. Authorities did not release the names of those arrested but did say six were arrested at the studio and two more at their homes in coordinated raids.
Final Solution Productions is listed as a finishing company on their Web site, and claim to have worked on projects in the live sports commercial world, including for clients such as Pepsi Cola, Anheuser-Busch, and Apple. It is not known at the time of publishing to what extent these companies were themselves involved with Final Solutions, if at all, or what specific role it played in finishing the ads.
What is known is that Final Solution Productions was operating under this front while editing and producing the terrorist videos from their Hollywood studio.
“Around 2300 hours last night, in conjunction with Office of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department, officers seized the assets at 42568 Vine St., arresting six individuals,” said FBI Special Agent Kendrick D. Williams from the LA division. “Two additional suspected were apprehended at their residence at that same time. All eight are being held as suspects in distributing and creating terrorist propaganda and are awaiting formal charges.”
Agent Williams is in charge of the Los Angeles intelligence office, and said agents were tipped off when they intercepted what appeared to be raw video elements being downloaded on computers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
When asked, Mr. Williams would not elaborate how the government intercepted this material, but sources say it was a result of interrogation that first began from captured prisoners in Iraq. One source told us that authorities learned of video elements being sent via encrypted FTP servers to a producer “somewhere in the United States.”
Tech experts tell us that once a server containing this media could be intercepted, it wouldn’t take long for someone with the right resources to be able to track the IP addresses of where it was ultimately being delivered, even if that IP addressed was masked by a torrent system.
“Currently the FBI is investigating all other possible connections that Final Solution Productions may have had in the Hollywood production area,” said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. “We do not believe Final Solution Productions acted alone, and are currently investigating its partners.”
For some time, authorities have been worried of so called “domestic terrorists” working for ISIS, and consider this a possible lead. Final Solution is believed to have worked with other studios and producers in Hollywood, some who, while not terrorists specifically, saw a profitable business and sought to gain from it.
“It wouldn’t be the first time Hollywood has sold itself out for a price,” said Hollywood insider Hanna Strong. Strong has started the #shameonhollywood tag in part to raise awareness against those in Hollywood willing to sell out America for their own profits. The tag is seen as a public reminder to executives that Americans won’t stand for this behavior, and is currently trending.
“Americans need to react to this story so that we don’t let a few money hungry people taint Hollywood,” continued Strong. “It’s up to us as consumers to let the executives know where we stand on terrorism.”
Those arrested include the president of Final Solution Productions, his executive producer, editor, and coordinator.
Hollywood Studio Caught Producing ISIS Videos
<National Report>
Shockwaves are being felt all throughout Tinseltown today as federal authorities moved to arrest several who are accused of aiding and abetting a foreign terrorist organization by producing ISIS recruitment videos.
It had long been suspected that the ISIS videos were produced from an outside source due to their above average production value, but no one had imagined an American production company could somehow be involved.
That changed last night, when authorities moved in and raided Final Solution Productions, a production company off the famous intersection of Sunset and Vine. Authorities did not release the names of those arrested but did say six were arrested at the studio and two more at their homes in coordinated raids.
Final Solution Productions is listed as a finishing company on their Web site, and claim to have worked on projects in the live sports commercial world, including for clients such as Pepsi Cola, Anheuser-Busch, and Apple. It is not known at the time of publishing to what extent these companies were themselves involved with Final Solutions, if at all, or what specific role it played in finishing the ads.
What is known is that Final Solution Productions was operating under this front while editing and producing the terrorist videos from their Hollywood studio.
“Around 2300 hours last night, in conjunction with Office of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department, officers seized the assets at 42568 Vine St., arresting six individuals,” said FBI Special Agent Kendrick D. Williams from the LA division. “Two additional suspected were apprehended at their residence at that same time. All eight are being held as suspects in distributing and creating terrorist propaganda and are awaiting formal charges.”
Agent Williams is in charge of the Los Angeles intelligence office, and said agents were tipped off when they intercepted what appeared to be raw video elements being downloaded on computers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
When asked, Mr. Williams would not elaborate how the government intercepted this material, but sources say it was a result of interrogation that first began from captured prisoners in Iraq. One source told us that authorities learned of video elements being sent via encrypted FTP servers to a producer “somewhere in the United States.”
Tech experts tell us that once a server containing this media could be intercepted, it wouldn’t take long for someone with the right resources to be able to track the IP addresses of where it was ultimately being delivered, even if that IP addressed was masked by a torrent system.
“Currently the FBI is investigating all other possible connections that Final Solution Productions may have had in the Hollywood production area,” said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. “We do not believe Final Solution Productions acted alone, and are currently investigating its partners.”
For some time, authorities have been worried of so called “domestic terrorists” working for ISIS, and consider this a possible lead. Final Solution is believed to have worked with other studios and producers in Hollywood, some who, while not terrorists specifically, saw a profitable business and sought to gain from it.
“It wouldn’t be the first time Hollywood has sold itself out for a price,” said Hollywood insider Hanna Strong. Strong has started the #shameonhollywood tag in part to raise awareness against those in Hollywood willing to sell out America for their own profits. The tag is seen as a public reminder to executives that Americans won’t stand for this behavior, and is currently trending.
“Americans need to react to this story so that we don’t let a few money hungry people taint Hollywood,” continued Strong. “It’s up to us as consumers to let the executives know where we stand on terrorism.”
Those arrested include the president of Final Solution Productions, his executive producer, editor, and coordinator.
- Registrado
- 16 Mar 2013
- Mensajes
- 7.584
- Calificaciones
- 26.300
Egypt is calling the West’s bluff over its phony war on ISIS
http://rt.com/op-edge/233787-egypt-west-isis-mideast-libya/
Western states are trumpeting ISIS as the latest threat to civilisation, claiming total commitment to their defeat, and using the group’s conquests in Syria and Iraq as a pretext for deepening their own military involvement in the Middle East.
Yet as Libya seems to be following the same path as Syria – of‘moderate’ anti-government militias backed by the West paving the way for ISIS takeover – Britain and the US seem reluctant to confront them there, immediately pouring cold water on Egyptian President Sisi’s request for an international coalition to halt their advances. By making the suggestion – and having it, predictably, spurned – Sisi is making clear Western duplicity over ISIS and the true nature of NATO policy in Libya.
http://rt.com/op-edge/233787-egypt-west-isis-mideast-libya/
Western states are trumpeting ISIS as the latest threat to civilisation, claiming total commitment to their defeat, and using the group’s conquests in Syria and Iraq as a pretext for deepening their own military involvement in the Middle East.
Yet as Libya seems to be following the same path as Syria – of‘moderate’ anti-government militias backed by the West paving the way for ISIS takeover – Britain and the US seem reluctant to confront them there, immediately pouring cold water on Egyptian President Sisi’s request for an international coalition to halt their advances. By making the suggestion – and having it, predictably, spurned – Sisi is making clear Western duplicity over ISIS and the true nature of NATO policy in Libya.
Advertencia: La noticia que han traido del website nationalreport.net con el titular "Hollywood Studio Caught Producing ISIS Videos" no es de fiar. Ese website se dedica a publicar satiras y articulos ficticios. Personalmente, jamas habia visto este site pero por los titulares de las noticias que aparecen en primera plana, por ejemplo; "Are Black Men Really Well-Endowed?", "Car Owners Baffled As More Tampons Are Found In Mazda 6 Engines", o "McDonald’s Rolls Out McSushi Menu In US", esto debe ser algo asi como el ya clasico "The Onion" -- un chiste.
National Report is a fake news website which posts fictional articles related to world events.[2][3][4][5] The National Report at one point carried a disclaimer identifying its content as satire, but removed this some time prior to October 2013.[6]
Stories from the National Report have been taken seriously by third parties such as Fox News Channel, and the site drew criticism in October 2014 for running a series of fake stories about Ebola outbreaks in the United States,[5] including the false report that the town of Purdon, Texas, has been quarantined after an outbreak.[7][8] The story led to a traffic spike of two million unique visitors, and although the story was debunked by other websites, the original National Report story received six times as many "shares" on social media sites as the debunking stories did.[5]
Craig Silverman of emergent.info sees National Report as one of several websites which are "not driven by trying to do comedy or satire, but by what kind of fake stuff can we spin up to get shares that earn us money".[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Report
National Report is a fake news website which posts fictional articles related to world events.[2][3][4][5] The National Report at one point carried a disclaimer identifying its content as satire, but removed this some time prior to October 2013.[6]
Stories from the National Report have been taken seriously by third parties such as Fox News Channel, and the site drew criticism in October 2014 for running a series of fake stories about Ebola outbreaks in the United States,[5] including the false report that the town of Purdon, Texas, has been quarantined after an outbreak.[7][8] The story led to a traffic spike of two million unique visitors, and although the story was debunked by other websites, the original National Report story received six times as many "shares" on social media sites as the debunking stories did.[5]
Craig Silverman of emergent.info sees National Report as one of several websites which are "not driven by trying to do comedy or satire, but by what kind of fake stuff can we spin up to get shares that earn us money".[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Report
Última edición:
- Registrado
- 16 Mar 2013
- Mensajes
- 7.584
- Calificaciones
- 26.300
Wesley Clark: "Our friends and allies funded ISIS to destroy Hezbollah"
...siempre acordarse de las revelaciones de Gen. Clark en cuanto a las intenciones de Chaney, Perle, Wolfovitz & Co - todos ellos firmatarios del Plan de PNAC "Clean Break" de os '90 que busca una "defensa ofensiva" para fomentar la seguridad del Estado de Israel en el MO - gobierno de Bush inmediatamente después de los atentados del 11-S:
...siempre acordarse de las revelaciones de Gen. Clark en cuanto a las intenciones de Chaney, Perle, Wolfovitz & Co - todos ellos firmatarios del Plan de PNAC "Clean Break" de os '90 que busca una "defensa ofensiva" para fomentar la seguridad del Estado de Israel en el MO - gobierno de Bush inmediatamente después de los atentados del 11-S:
- Registrado
- 16 Mar 2013
- Mensajes
- 7.584
- Calificaciones
- 26.300
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...tand-behind-isis-and-boko-haram-10051024.html
Sudan's President claims CIA and Mossad 'stand behind' Isis and Boko Haram
A A A
Sudan’s President has claimed the CIA, America’s intelligence agency, and Israel’s Mossad are behind the Islamist militant groups Boko Haram and Isis.
Omar al-Bashir used an interview with Euronews
http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/16/...ind-boko-haram-and-isil-says-sudan-president/
to claim there was a connection between the American and Israeli intelligence organisations and both extremist groups.
He spoke after Isis released a video purporting to show the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, an act that prompted Egypt to respond with air strikes avenging the massacre.
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, serif][/FONT]
Al-Bashir told the broadcaster: “I said CIA and the Mossad stand behind these organisations; there is no Muslim who would carry out such acts.”
....
“Our policy has been largely successful, after we arrest these young people we bring a group of young scholars to engage in dialogue with them about their thoughts, and we succeed to bring a lot of them back from their radical ideas,” he added.
His remarks come after the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group also claimed the CIA and Israel's Mossad are behind the extremist group, according to the Associated Press.
In January, Melih Gokcek, the mayor of the Turkish city Ankara, claimed Mossad was involved in the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, committed by Islamist militants.
Explaining his conspiracy theory, he suggested Israel was behind the mass shooting because it wanted to "boost enmity towards Islam", the Financial Times reports.
...
Sudan's President claims CIA and Mossad 'stand behind' Isis and Boko Haram
A A A
Sudan’s President has claimed the CIA, America’s intelligence agency, and Israel’s Mossad are behind the Islamist militant groups Boko Haram and Isis.
Omar al-Bashir used an interview with Euronews
http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/16/...ind-boko-haram-and-isil-says-sudan-president/
to claim there was a connection between the American and Israeli intelligence organisations and both extremist groups.
He spoke after Isis released a video purporting to show the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, an act that prompted Egypt to respond with air strikes avenging the massacre.
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, serif][/FONT]
Al-Bashir told the broadcaster: “I said CIA and the Mossad stand behind these organisations; there is no Muslim who would carry out such acts.”
....
“Our policy has been largely successful, after we arrest these young people we bring a group of young scholars to engage in dialogue with them about their thoughts, and we succeed to bring a lot of them back from their radical ideas,” he added.
His remarks come after the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group also claimed the CIA and Israel's Mossad are behind the extremist group, according to the Associated Press.
In January, Melih Gokcek, the mayor of the Turkish city Ankara, claimed Mossad was involved in the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, committed by Islamist militants.
Explaining his conspiracy theory, he suggested Israel was behind the mass shooting because it wanted to "boost enmity towards Islam", the Financial Times reports.
...
- Registrado
- 16 Mar 2013
- Mensajes
- 7.584
- Calificaciones
- 26.300
Las banderas negras de IS...
http://www.timesofisrael.com/bag-full-of-islamic-state-flags-discovered-in-north/
Bag full of Islamic State flags discovered in north (of Israel)
Materials belonging to banned jihadist group found in Nazareth Illit industrial area; police open investigation
http://www.timesofisrael.com/bag-full-of-islamic-state-flags-discovered-in-north/
Bag full of Islamic State flags discovered in north (of Israel)
Materials belonging to banned jihadist group found in Nazareth Illit industrial area; police open investigation
- Registrado
- 25 Mar 2010
- Mensajes
- 13.818
- Calificaciones
- 42.391
"Washington sembrará el caos en Asia Central para debilitar a Rusia"
En el contexto del inevitable crecimiento de China y el futuro empeoramiento de la crisis financiera, "la única forma que tiene EE.UU. de mantener su hegemonía mundial es debilitar a sus oponentes", en particular a Rusia. Para hacerlo, Washingron actuará en varios frentes, uno de los cuales será Asia Central, opina el columnista Iván Lizán. "La región es muy importante: si Ucrania es una espoleta de la guerra, Asia Central es el depósito de municiones, y si se enciende, cubrirá la mitad del continente con la metralla de sus explosiones"
El caos podría llegar de Afganistán, la principal "fuente de inestabilidad" en la zona, donde se produciría la fusión entre los talibanes y el Estado Islámico. Aunque de momento este proceso se encuentra "en la etapa inicial" Asimismo, los problemas ya han empezado en las fronteras de otros países, como Turkmenistán y Tayikistán
"Como a los estadounidenses no les gusta poner todos los huevos en la misma canasta, apoyarán tanto al Kabul oficial, lo que les permitirá mantener la legitimidad de su estancia en el país, como a los talibanes, que estarán transformándose en el Estado Islámico", explica el experto, agregando que "luego llegará un caos en el que los estadounidenses formalmente no participarán", esperando en sus bases a ver quién gana para apoyar al vencedor.
"EE.UU. arrastrará a la región en una guerra con sus propios proyectos: los talibanes y el Estado Islámico", señala Lizán.
"Así que 2015 pasará bajo la bandera de la preparación para una amplia desestabilización de la región de Asia Central y la transformación de Afganistán y Pakistán en una filial del Estado Islámico cerca de las fronteras de Rusia, la India, China e Irán", pronostica el periodista.
La desestabilización de la región, a su vez, dará lugar al inicio de un "baño de sangre", que automáticamente implicará a más de un tercio de la población mundial, "incluidos casi todos los rivales geopolíticos" de EE.UU., "una posibilidad que Washington no podrá perderse", concluye Lizán. http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/166948-eeuu-caos-asia-central-rusia-ei
En el contexto del inevitable crecimiento de China y el futuro empeoramiento de la crisis financiera, "la única forma que tiene EE.UU. de mantener su hegemonía mundial es debilitar a sus oponentes", en particular a Rusia. Para hacerlo, Washingron actuará en varios frentes, uno de los cuales será Asia Central, opina el columnista Iván Lizán. "La región es muy importante: si Ucrania es una espoleta de la guerra, Asia Central es el depósito de municiones, y si se enciende, cubrirá la mitad del continente con la metralla de sus explosiones"
El caos podría llegar de Afganistán, la principal "fuente de inestabilidad" en la zona, donde se produciría la fusión entre los talibanes y el Estado Islámico. Aunque de momento este proceso se encuentra "en la etapa inicial" Asimismo, los problemas ya han empezado en las fronteras de otros países, como Turkmenistán y Tayikistán
"Como a los estadounidenses no les gusta poner todos los huevos en la misma canasta, apoyarán tanto al Kabul oficial, lo que les permitirá mantener la legitimidad de su estancia en el país, como a los talibanes, que estarán transformándose en el Estado Islámico", explica el experto, agregando que "luego llegará un caos en el que los estadounidenses formalmente no participarán", esperando en sus bases a ver quién gana para apoyar al vencedor.
"EE.UU. arrastrará a la región en una guerra con sus propios proyectos: los talibanes y el Estado Islámico", señala Lizán.
"Así que 2015 pasará bajo la bandera de la preparación para una amplia desestabilización de la región de Asia Central y la transformación de Afganistán y Pakistán en una filial del Estado Islámico cerca de las fronteras de Rusia, la India, China e Irán", pronostica el periodista.
La desestabilización de la región, a su vez, dará lugar al inicio de un "baño de sangre", que automáticamente implicará a más de un tercio de la población mundial, "incluidos casi todos los rivales geopolíticos" de EE.UU., "una posibilidad que Washington no podrá perderse", concluye Lizán. http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/166948-eeuu-caos-asia-central-rusia-ei
Última edición:
O
Ondina
Guest
Arabia Saudí y Qatar siguen financiando a ISIS
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/is...hy-gulf-angel-investors-officials-say-n208006
¿Para cuando las sanciones? (es un pregunta retórica, las sanciones son sólo para Irán)
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/is...hy-gulf-angel-investors-officials-say-n208006
¿Para cuando las sanciones? (es un pregunta retórica, las sanciones son sólo para Irán)
O
Ondina
Guest
Increíble cómo están arrastrando los pies EEUU y sus aliados estratégicos a la hora de destruir el monstruo que ellos mismos crearon!!
Han dejado solos a países como Egipto, Sudán y Argelia -que bastante tienen con combatir el islamismo en casa- a la hora de defender sus fronteras de una banda de criminales que, aprovechando el caos y el vacío de poder que han dejado las operaciones encubiertas de la CIA y los bombardeos de la OTAN en Iraq, Siria y Libia, están expandiendo peligrosamente su radio de acción, blandiendo sus armas de alta tecnología y capitalizando la desmoralización de los ejércitos nacionales locales y las ganas de acción de unos jóvenes crecientemente radicalizados para engrosas sus filas.
El plan de (des)estabilización de Oriente Medio va viento en popa.
Han dejado solos a países como Egipto, Sudán y Argelia -que bastante tienen con combatir el islamismo en casa- a la hora de defender sus fronteras de una banda de criminales que, aprovechando el caos y el vacío de poder que han dejado las operaciones encubiertas de la CIA y los bombardeos de la OTAN en Iraq, Siria y Libia, están expandiendo peligrosamente su radio de acción, blandiendo sus armas de alta tecnología y capitalizando la desmoralización de los ejércitos nacionales locales y las ganas de acción de unos jóvenes crecientemente radicalizados para engrosas sus filas.
El plan de (des)estabilización de Oriente Medio va viento en popa.
O
Ondina
Guest
(copio el articulo de NBC sobre la como las monarquías del Golfo siguen financiando a ISIS para quien le interese porque el link no funciona por alguna razón)
A small but steady flow of money to ISIS from rich individuals in the Gulf continues, say current and former U.S. officials, with Qataris the biggest suppliers. These rich individuals have long served as "angel investors," as one expert put it, for the most violent militants in the region, providing the “seed money” that helped launch ISIS and other jihadi groups.
No one in the U.S. government is putting a number on the current rate of donations, but former U.S. Navy Admiral and NATO Supreme Commander James Stavridis says the cash flow from private donors is significant now and was even more significant in the early fund-raising done by ISIS and al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the al-Nusrah Front.
"These rich Arabs are like what 'angel investors' are to tech start-ups, except they are interested in starting up groups who want to stir up hatred," said Stavridis, now the dean of the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University. "Groups like al-Nusrah and ISIS are better investments for them. The individuals act as high rollers early, providing seed money. Once the groups are on their feet, they are perfectly capable of raising funds through other means, like kidnapping, oil smuggling, selling women into slavery, etc."
Stavridis and other current U.S. officials suggest that the biggest share of the individual donations supporting ISIS and the most radical groups comes from Qatar rather than Saudi Arabia, and that the Qatari government has done less to stop the flow than its neighbors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. One U.S. official said the Saudis are "more in line with U.S. foreign policy" than the Qataris.
Groups like ISIS and al-Nusrah employ fundraisers who meet with wealthy Sunni Arabs. Most of the Arab states have laws prohibiting such fundraising, but U.S. officials say the Qataris do not strictly enforce their laws.
A U.S. intelligence official said the amount provided by wealthy individuals is small relative to the group’s other sources, but admitted that the flow continues. “Although ISIS probably still receives donations from patrons in some of the Gulf countries," said the official, “any outside funding represents a small fraction of ISIS’s total annual income.”
The U.S. believes ISIS is taking in about $1 million a day from all sources. The largest source of cash now, say U.S. officials, is oil smuggling along the Turkish border, with ISIS leaders willing to sell oil from conquered Syrian and Iraqi fields for as little as $25 a barrel, a quarter of the going world price. Other previously lucrative sources, like kidnapping for ransom, are not what they once were. As one U.S. official put it, "there are only so many rich Syrian businessmen." Similarly, there are fewer banks to loot.
Adm. Stavridis, author of the forthcoming book "Accidental Admiral," suggests that the U.S. must cut off as much funding as it can, calling cash flow the "fourth front" in the war against ISIS, along with helping the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi military and carrying out a bombing campaign.
As long ago as last March, before ISIS's military advances, a senior Treasury Department official spoke publicly about "permissive jurisdictions" that were allowing fundraising on behalf of ISIS and other groups.
"A number of fundraisers operating in more permissive jurisdictions -- particularly in Kuwait and Qatar -- are soliciting donations to fund extremist insurgents, not to meet legitimate humanitarian needs,” said Daniel Cohen, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "The recipients of these funds are often terrorist groups, including al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, al-Nusrah Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIS]."
David Phillips, a former senior advisor to the State Department on Iraq and now director of the Program on Peace-building and Human Rights at Columbia University, said the bottom line, financially and politically, is that "wealthy Arabs are playing a dirty double game. “
“Their governments claim to oppose ISIS,” he said, “while individuals continue funding terrorist activities."
The financial help from "rich patrons," as U.S. intelligence calls them, was also noted this week by Iranian officials, who have been excluded from participating in anti-ISIS discussions. High-ranking officials complained publicly Wednesday about the early role of Arab states in building opposition to the Assad regime to Syria, and blamed them for the consequences.
A small but steady flow of money to ISIS from rich individuals in the Gulf continues, say current and former U.S. officials, with Qataris the biggest suppliers. These rich individuals have long served as "angel investors," as one expert put it, for the most violent militants in the region, providing the “seed money” that helped launch ISIS and other jihadi groups.
No one in the U.S. government is putting a number on the current rate of donations, but former U.S. Navy Admiral and NATO Supreme Commander James Stavridis says the cash flow from private donors is significant now and was even more significant in the early fund-raising done by ISIS and al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the al-Nusrah Front.
"These rich Arabs are like what 'angel investors' are to tech start-ups, except they are interested in starting up groups who want to stir up hatred," said Stavridis, now the dean of the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University. "Groups like al-Nusrah and ISIS are better investments for them. The individuals act as high rollers early, providing seed money. Once the groups are on their feet, they are perfectly capable of raising funds through other means, like kidnapping, oil smuggling, selling women into slavery, etc."
Stavridis and other current U.S. officials suggest that the biggest share of the individual donations supporting ISIS and the most radical groups comes from Qatar rather than Saudi Arabia, and that the Qatari government has done less to stop the flow than its neighbors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. One U.S. official said the Saudis are "more in line with U.S. foreign policy" than the Qataris.
Groups like ISIS and al-Nusrah employ fundraisers who meet with wealthy Sunni Arabs. Most of the Arab states have laws prohibiting such fundraising, but U.S. officials say the Qataris do not strictly enforce their laws.
A U.S. intelligence official said the amount provided by wealthy individuals is small relative to the group’s other sources, but admitted that the flow continues. “Although ISIS probably still receives donations from patrons in some of the Gulf countries," said the official, “any outside funding represents a small fraction of ISIS’s total annual income.”
The U.S. believes ISIS is taking in about $1 million a day from all sources. The largest source of cash now, say U.S. officials, is oil smuggling along the Turkish border, with ISIS leaders willing to sell oil from conquered Syrian and Iraqi fields for as little as $25 a barrel, a quarter of the going world price. Other previously lucrative sources, like kidnapping for ransom, are not what they once were. As one U.S. official put it, "there are only so many rich Syrian businessmen." Similarly, there are fewer banks to loot.
Adm. Stavridis, author of the forthcoming book "Accidental Admiral," suggests that the U.S. must cut off as much funding as it can, calling cash flow the "fourth front" in the war against ISIS, along with helping the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi military and carrying out a bombing campaign.
As long ago as last March, before ISIS's military advances, a senior Treasury Department official spoke publicly about "permissive jurisdictions" that were allowing fundraising on behalf of ISIS and other groups.
"A number of fundraisers operating in more permissive jurisdictions -- particularly in Kuwait and Qatar -- are soliciting donations to fund extremist insurgents, not to meet legitimate humanitarian needs,” said Daniel Cohen, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "The recipients of these funds are often terrorist groups, including al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, al-Nusrah Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIS]."
David Phillips, a former senior advisor to the State Department on Iraq and now director of the Program on Peace-building and Human Rights at Columbia University, said the bottom line, financially and politically, is that "wealthy Arabs are playing a dirty double game. “
“Their governments claim to oppose ISIS,” he said, “while individuals continue funding terrorist activities."
The financial help from "rich patrons," as U.S. intelligence calls them, was also noted this week by Iranian officials, who have been excluded from participating in anti-ISIS discussions. High-ranking officials complained publicly Wednesday about the early role of Arab states in building opposition to the Assad regime to Syria, and blamed them for the consequences.
