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Modern
Jihad
By: Loretta Napoleoni
Posted December 22, 2003
thepeoplesvoice.org
Published by Pluto Press, www.plutobooks.com
(ISBN: 0-7453-2117-8) $24.95 US
“This book breaks new ground, offering fresh
insights into some of the financial underpinnings of contemporary
terrorism.” Alex
P. Schmid, Senior Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Terrorism
Prevention Branch, United Nations
Modern Jihad: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks propels
the reader into the netherworld of illegal organizations. From the Contras
al-Qaeda, Loretta Napoleoni maps out the arteries of an international
economic system that feeds armed groups the world over with an endless
supply of cash. Chasing terror money, she takes the reader from CIA
headquarters to the smuggling routes of the Far East, from the back rooms of
Wall Street to Hawata exchanges in the Middle East.
The ‘new economy of terror’ that Napoleoni identifies is a 1.5
trillion-dollar fast-growing economic system. It is made up of illegal
businesses such as arms and narcotics trading, oil and diamonds smuggling,
as well as charitable donations and profits from legal businesses. Most
importantly, Napoleoni reveals the interdependency between economies run by
armed groups and western economies.
Modern Jihad is the first book to tackle issues raised by September
11th 2001 from a specifically economic perspective. Presenting an
astonishing array of evidence taken from extensive research and interviews,
the book is a fascinating account of controversial issues that lie at the
heart of many of today's international problems.
Revealing how the ‘new economy of terror’ has evolved by proxy through
various wars - from the Cold War to today's war on terror - Napoleoni argues
that Islamic terror groups are driven by real economic forces in the Muslim
world. Shifting the focus away from religious and cultural differences,
Napoleoni assesses the full extent of the role of the West in developing the
economies of armed organizations and provides a valuable insight into real
factors dividing ‘East’ and ‘West’.
Praise for Modern
Jihad
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”This thoroughly and incisive
inquiry yields much insight into some of the most important issues of
today, and tomorrow.” Noam Chomsky
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”This book opens a Vista onto
the complex financial background of global terrorism and, in the
process, on to some of the under-publicized characteristics of the new
(post Cold War) economy.” George
Magnus, Chief Economist, UBS Warburg
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”A tour-de-force of detective
work in economics and theory building in politics that sheds
new light on the most worrying phenomenon of the new millennium.”
Professor Paul Gilbert, University of Hull, and
author of New Terror, New War
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”Loretta Napoleoni has
accomplished an extraordinary task of research in tracking, finding and
graphically describing the financiers and the institutions supporting
global terrorism, including al-Qaeda and how Osama bin Laden. Her book
is the most definitive account seen so far of the deep and intricate
links between terrorist networks and organized crime, from the Italian
Mafia to the new Eastern European networks.”
John K. Cooley, correspondent for ABC News and
author of Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and
International Terrorism
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”A masterpiece… This book
should be required reading for everyone in the White House, State
Department and Pentagon.” Greg Palast, journalist and author of The New
York Times best seller The Best Democracy
Money Can Buy
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”Penetrating lucid and
essential.” Henry
Porter, author of Empire State and A
Spy's Life
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”Loretta Napoleoni’s
description of the ‘new economy of terror’ shows how terrorist
financing poses a great threat to our free market system and our shared
world.” Raymond
W. Baker, Senior Fellow, Center for International Policy
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”Topical and illuminating.
Anyone who wants to know about the under-world of terrorist
organizations and how they are financed must read this book.”
G. Kenneth Bernhard, Connecticut State
Representative
About the Author
Lauretta Napoleoni is an
economist who has worked for banks and international organizations in Europe
and the U.S. She is also a journalist and has worked as a foreign
correspondent for several Italian financial papers. She has written novels
and guidebooks in Italian, and translated and edited books on terrorism. Her
most recent novel, Dossier Baghdad, is a financial thriller set
during the Gulf War. She was among the few people to interview the Red
Brigades in Italy after three decades of silence.
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