The 411 on how we got here, and why going sustainably green is how we can get out?
More than 60 speakers warned the Security Council that the correlation between climate change vulnerability and terrorist recruitment poses a serious threat to international security. The negative synergy between these two crises could potentially undermine States, as highlighted during the consideration of a draft resolution proposed by Niger and Ireland.
United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, emphasized the urgent need to address climate disruption, stating that no one is immune to its destructive impacts. He stressed the importance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, citing the escalating extreme weather events affecting food security and resource availability in Africa and the Middle East.
The Secretary-General pointed out that regions most susceptible to climate change are often plagued by poverty, weak governance, and terrorist activities. He highlighted that eight out of the 15 countries most exposed to climate risks are hosting United Nations missions, with examples like Mali where terrorist groups exploit tensions between herders and farmers for recruitment, and Iraq and Syria where ISIL leverages water scarcity. Climate change exacerbates these existing challenges, creating a multiplying effect.
The issue of Europe's involvement in financing terrorism is intricate and requires a comprehensive examination to comprehend its full implications. The financing of terrorism through European channels is often associated with illicit financial flows, money laundering, and the exploitation of legal gaps.
One of the key challenges in combating terrorism financing in Europe is the presence of a sophisticated network of individuals and organizations that facilitate the flow of funds to terrorist groups. These networks operate both within and outside the formal financial system, making it difficult for authorities to track and disrupt their activities.
Moreover, Europe's diverse financial landscape, with its numerous banking institutions and financial centers, provides ample opportunities for terrorists to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. Terrorist organizations often use a combination of legitimate and illegitimate means to raise and move funds, including charities, front companies, and cash smuggling operations.
In recent years, European governments and regulatory bodies have implemented various measures to strengthen their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes. These efforts include enhancing financial intelligence capabilities, improving information sharing among law enforcement agencies, and tightening regulations on the financial sector.
Despite these initiatives, the challenge of combating terrorism financing in Europe remains a persistent and evolving threat. It requires a coordinated and multi-faceted approach involving not only law enforcement and regulatory authorities but also cooperation at the international level to effectively disrupt the financial networks that support terrorism.
France claims it is stepping up international efforts to combat Boko Haram, after the fiasco of being exposed as one of the primary reasons terrorist organizations thrive in Sub Saharan nations as they are somehow funded by European dollars. France hosted a hastily convened meeting in Paris recently aimed at pushing Nigeria and its francophone neighbors to join forces to stop the spread of the extreme Islamist group after they stop the Sahelian Alliance to grow in strength and power enabling them to do it themselves.
The alliance is bringing together leaders from Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Chad, Senegal, and Benin as well as representatives from the US, UK and the EU in an attempt to forge more effective military and intelligence operations against organizations like Boko Haram, which ironically got its name from its attempt to burn and destroy books that would educate and enlighten people so they could not be controlled a tactic used most prominently in European history and in the Americas against black people to maintain control over their access to knowledge of themselves and their potential.
French defense officials have acknowledged the significant role played by cells of Aqim (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and Islamists in Nigeria in funding terrorism in the Sahelian nations. This revelation sheds light on the complex web of financing that fuels terrorism in the region, posing a serious threat to stability and security. The involvement of these extremist groups from different countries underscores the transnational nature of the issue, highlighting the need for coordinated efforts to combat terrorism effectively.
The emergence of Nigeria as a key player in opposing nations that have historically struggled to contain Islamic terrorist invasions raises questions about the motivations and strategies employed in addressing this longstanding challenge. The reluctance or inability of certain nations, despite having the resources and capabilities, to confront this threat prompts speculation about underlying agendas and priorities. The comparison drawn with international organizations like the IMF, which often advocate for measures to address economic instability in African nations, raises concerns about the broader implications of counterterrorism efforts in the region.
The complexities surrounding the financing of terrorism and the responses of different nations underscore the multifaceted nature of the security landscape in the Sahelian region. As discussions continue on how to effectively address these challenges, it becomes increasingly important to consider the broader socio-political dynamics at play and to evaluate the effectiveness of current strategies in combating terrorism and promoting stability in the region.
The director of the National Security Agency General William Odom remarked, “by any measure the U.S. has long used terrorism. In 1978 the Senate was trying to pass a law against international terrorism – in every version they produced, the lawyers said the U.S. would be in violation.”
During the 1970′s the CIA used the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as a barrier to thwart Soviet expansion and prevent the spread of Marxist ideology among Arabs. The United States also openly supported Sarekat Islam against Sukarno in Indonesia,supported the Jamaat-e-Islami terror group against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in Pakistan. In 1979 the CIA gave birth to Osama Bin Laden and funded his organization during the 1980′s.
Former British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, told the UK House of Commons that Al Qaeda was a product of Western intelligence agencies. He explained that Al Qaeda, which literally means “the database” in Arabic, was originally the computer database of thousands of Islamist extremists, trained by the CIA and funded by the Saudis, in order to defeat the Russians in Afghanistan and maintain the power and monopoly over world oil futures. Oil that created global warming and climate change!
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