The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus An Alliance of International Drug Cartels, Organized Crime, and Terror Groups

Postmodern global terrorist groups engage sovereign nations asymmetrically with prolonged, sustained campaigns driven by ideology. Increasingly, transnational criminal organizations operate with sophistication previously only found in multinational corporations. Unfortunately, both of these entities can now effectively hide and morph, keeping law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the dark and on the run. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that al Qaeda, Hezbollah, FARC, drug cartels, and increasingly violent gangs—as well as domestic groups such as the Sovereign Citizens—are now joining forces. Despite differing ideologies, they are threatening us in new and provocative ways. The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus: An Alliance of International Drug Cartels, Organized Crime, and Terror Groups frames this complex issue using current research and real-world examples of how these entities are sharing knowledge, training, tactics, and—in increasing frequency—joining forces. Providing policy makers, security strategists, law enforcement and intelligence agents, and students with new evidence of this growing threat, this volume: Examines current and future threats from international and domestic criminal and terror groups Identifies specific instances in which these groups are working together or in parallel to achieve their goals Discusses the "lifeblood" of modern organizations—the money trail Describes how nefarious groups leverage both traditional funding methods and e-commerce to raise, store, move, and launder money Explores the social networking phenomenon and reveals how it is the perfect clandestine platform for spying, communicating, recruiting, and spreading propaganda Investigates emergent tactics such as the use of human shields, and the targeting of first responders, schools, hospitals, and churches This text reveals the often disregarded, misunderstood, or downplayed nexus threat to the United States. Proving definitively that such liaisons exist despite differing ideologies, the book provides a thought-provoking new look at the complexity and phenomena of the terrorist-criminal nexus. This book was excerpted in the February/March 2013 issue of The Counter Terrorist.

A Poisonous Brew Transnational Organized Crime: The Dark Side of GlobalizationMultinational Corporate Sophistication Transnational Organized Crime on the Rise Scoping the TOC Challenge Fighting Transnational Crime Overseas … and within Our Borders National Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime Agencies and Methods Major Areas of Concern, Progress, and Lessons LearnedLessons Learned Postmodern Terrorist GroupsPostmodern Organizational Theory: The Rise of Modern Terrorism and Groups Modern Terrorism’s Roots International Terrorist Groups: The "Big 3"Al Qaeda and Affiliates Hezbollah FARC Domestic Terrorism and the Homegrown Threat History of Domestic Terrorism in the United States The Twenty-First Century and the Rising Tide of Domestic Extremism Homegrown Terror The Lone Wolf Gangs: Evolving and Collaborating The Way Ahead Drug-Trafficking Organizations Go GlobalThe Battle in Mexico Major DTOs Impacting the United States Special Concern: Los ZetasDTOs Cross the Border: Cartels in the Heartland Nexus Area: Terrorists, SIAs, and DTOs Corruption at the Border: Opening the GatesDTOs: Foreign Terrorist Organizations?Traditional Terrorist and Criminal Financing Methods: Adapting for SuccessFunding Terror Earning, Moving, Storing EarningMoving Storing, Earning, and Moving The Way Forward Terrorists and Criminal Exploitation of E-commerce: Following the Money Just Got Tougher New Payment Methods DefinedNPM Financing Devices with Stored Value Auction and Bulletin Board Websites Auction Sites P2P Websites Digital Precious MetalsE-dinar The Battle Ahead Exploitation of Social Networking and the InternetThe Internet: A Twenty-First-Century Black Swan Rise of Social Networking: Are We Users … or Targets? The Mind as a Battlefield: The War of Ideology Looking through a New Lens at Social Networking Enter Hackers and Cyber Vigilantes The Way Ahead Sharing TacticsDrug-Trafficking Organizations and Terrorist Group InterfaceIRA Inc.Hezbollah and Hamas: Partnering for Success IEDs, Fertilizer, and Sticky Bombs First Response and the Threat of Secondary DevicesUse of Human Shields by Terror Groups on the RiseAsymmetric ThreatsWMD Conclusions about the Nexus and Thoughts on Resiliency and the Way ForwardResiliency as a WeaponGlossary Appendix: List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations Identification DesignationLegal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as Amended Legal Ramifications of Designation Other Effects of Designation Index

Colonel (Ret.) Jennifer L. Hesterman was commissioned in 1986 as a graduate of Air Force ROTC at Penn State University. During her twenty-one-year career, she served three Pentagon tours and commanded multiple units in the field. Her last assignment was Vice Commander, 316th Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, the home of Air Force One. Her decorations include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters. Colonel Hesterman is a doctoral candidate at Benedictine University and also holds master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Air University. In 2003, she was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, where she immersed herself in a year-long study of the nexus between organized crime and international terrorism. Her resulting book won the 2004 Air Force research prize and was published by AU Press. She is a cleared professional for the MASY Group, a national security and intelligence firm; contributing editor for The Counter Terrorist magazine; and a guest lecturer for federal and state law enforcement agencies.