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12 Eur. J. on Crim. Pol'y & Rsch. 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/eurjcpr12 and id is 1 raw text is: NIKOS PASSAS and KIMBERLY JONES COMMODITIES AND TERRORIST FINANCING: FOCUS ON DIAMONDS* ABSTRACT. Commodities, trade, and natural resources have long been part of the political economy of conflict, as soldiers and militants usually employ accessible means and methods to raise funds unless there is a clash with honestly held religious or ideological positions. Reports about the role of commodities in the financing of terrorist groups cover many areas of legal and illicit trade, foremost among these diamonds. Abrief background to the diamond industry, with particular attention to vulnerabilities and their exploitation in conflict areas, provides the necessary context for two case studies about al-Qaeda (AQ) and Hezbollah. These utilize primary and secondary data to explore the linkages between diamonds and these particular groups. We found conflicting and weak evidence as well as vague language to describe interfaces between terrorist groups and the diamonds trade. We conclude that while there is cause for concern that this industry can be used to support terrorist activity, deeper factual grounding, meaningful context, and a more nuanced understanding of the diamond industry are necessary to fully inform policy makers and law enforcement about the connections between terrorist finance and the commodities trade. KEY WORDS: al-Qaeda, commodities, conflict economy, diamond industry, Hezbollah, militancy, terrorism, trade, transnational crime INTRODUCTION Commodities, trade, and natural resources have always been part of the political economy of conflict (Ballentine and Nitzschke 2005). Warring parties, including armed militants, usually employ whatever resources are accessible, unless these clash with honestly held religious or ideological positions. Reports about the role of commodities in the financing of terror- ist groups have covered many areas of legal and illicit trade. For example, links have been reported at various times between illicit drug trafficking and most militant groups, including Abu Sayyef, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Tamil Tigers (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE), Kosova Liberation Army (KLA), Northern Alliance affiliated groups, al-Qaeda (AQ), Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), and the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). Smuggling operations involving commodi- ties such as tobacco, arms, oil, precious stones, gold, silver, farm products *Research on which this paper is based was sponsored by a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant for a study of Terrorist Finance and the Nexus with Transnational Organized Crime: Commodities Trade and the Social Organization of al Qaeda Groups, grant no. 2003-DT-CX-0001. We would like to thank Christian Dietrich and an anonymous peer reviewer for their very constructive comments. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (2006) 12: 1-33 DOI: 10.1007/s10610-006-9006-3 © Springer 2006

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