The Global War on Terror began almost immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Although the players since then have somewhat changed, the War on Terror is still continuing and it does not appear to be ending anytime soon. The question to answer is why is this war still going? This is not a war against another nation, but a war against different groups and organizations. These groups should not have the same resources as sovereign nations; however, they are able to support their efforts like they are an independent nation. The goal of this paper is to find out how terrorist organizations finance their war on terror, specifically Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Islamic State). The Islamic
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Al-Qaeda formed in 1988 to help fight the Soviet soldiers invading Afghanistan. The leader of the group was Osama bin Laden, and he held this role until his death in 2011. Al-Qaeda does not manage the daily operations of its members, but instead core leadership seeks to centralize the organization’s messaging and strategy. The structure of Al-Qaeda is very similar to the structure of a business, due to/ an advisory council that directs their overall strategy. The advisory council can challenge leadership on different ideas and propositions. Al-Qaeda also has a military committee, finance committee, information committee, security committee, foreign purchases committee, and a political committee (http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/911_TerrFin_Ch2.pdf). All of these committees play a huge part in directing Al-Qaeda’s message to different …show more content…
The demand for cheap oil in the Middle East is very high because the price of oil can be as high as $7 per gallon. As a result, Islamic State often looks for expansion into areas where there are oil fields. This allows them to control all the oil in the area, and sell the oil on the black market for a much cheaper price. “Total oil production in the Islamic State-held territory is estimated at around 34,000-40,000 barrels per day. The drop in oil prices over the past year has likely hurt revenues, but selling each barrel at a price of anywhere between $20 and $40 still manages to earn the group about $1.5 million per day. Also, much of the oil produced is used for their own consumption
Al-Qaeda formed in 1988 to help fight the Soviet soldiers invading Afghanistan. The leader of the group was Osama bin Laden, and he held this role until his death in 2011. Al-Qaeda does not manage the daily operations of its members, but instead core leadership seeks to centralize the organization’s messaging and strategy. The structure of Al-Qaeda is very similar to the structure of a business, due to/ an advisory council that directs their overall strategy. The advisory council can challenge leadership on different ideas and propositions. Al-Qaeda also has a military committee, finance committee, information committee, security committee, foreign purchases committee, and a political committee (http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/911_TerrFin_Ch2.pdf). All of these committees play a huge part in directing Al-Qaeda’s message to different …show more content…
The demand for cheap oil in the Middle East is very high because the price of oil can be as high as $7 per gallon. As a result, Islamic State often looks for expansion into areas where there are oil fields. This allows them to control all the oil in the area, and sell the oil on the black market for a much cheaper price. “Total oil production in the Islamic State-held territory is estimated at around 34,000-40,000 barrels per day. The drop in oil prices over the past year has likely hurt revenues, but selling each barrel at a price of anywhere between $20 and $40 still manages to earn the group about $1.5 million per day. Also, much of the oil produced is used for their own consumption