The olive branch and the hammer a strategic analysis of hawala in the financial war on terrorism
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Authors
Hancock, Daniel A.
Subjects
Advisors
Looney, Robert E.
Russell, James A.
Date of Issue
2008-03
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Since September 11, 2001, U.S. counter-terror efforts to disrupt al Qaeda's finances have been imprecise at best; at worst, they have had profound negative effects. The question of why hawala poses such a great threat and why there is a need for strict regulation or elimination of hawala has been the subject of great deliberation among policy makers and financial scholars since al Qaeda's attack on New York and Washington, D.C. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the complexities of the hawala informal financial transfer system prevalent in the Middle East and assess its complicity with terrorist financing. To that end, this thesis examines whether the hawala system itself poses a significant terrorist threat to the United States as a medium for financial transactions for terrorist organizations. By conducting a detailed analysis of hawala in Afghanistan from 2001-2006, this thesis provides a framework to assess whether the hawala system poses a strategic threat in the U.S. led "war on terror." Furthermore, by studying regulation attempts in Afghanistan, this thesis examines the cultural and economic effects of U.S. efforts on Muslims.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Security Studies
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
xiv, 79 p. : maps ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.