Turn In Your Bin Ladens
By JONATHAN LIPOW
NYT
THE 500-euro note is sometimes called the “Bin Laden” — after all, Europeans may never see the 500 euro, but they know it is out there somewhere. Unfortunately, Al Qaeda’s leader and the 500-euro bill are connected in another way: high-denomination bills make it a lot easier for terrorists to operate.
Organized crime has always been a cash industry. In 1969, the Treasury stopped issuing $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills specifically to impede crime syndicates — the only entities that were still using such large bills after the introduction of electronic money transfers.
Nowadays, terrorist networks have become important users of cash. No organization understands this better than the United States military. During the early years of coalition operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, American forces distributed cash liberally. From 2003 and 2008, about $19 billion in physical money was handed out to Iraqi suppliers and contractors.
But the military has gradually realized that the anonymity of cash makes it easy for terrorists and insurgents to smuggle in money and make purchases without a trace. That’s why for the past few years the military has been striving to replace its cash transactions with electronic fund transfers and debit card payments in the hopes of achieving a “cashless battlefield,” in the words of Peter Kunkel, a former assistant secretary of the Army.
(More here.)
NYT
THE 500-euro note is sometimes called the “Bin Laden” — after all, Europeans may never see the 500 euro, but they know it is out there somewhere. Unfortunately, Al Qaeda’s leader and the 500-euro bill are connected in another way: high-denomination bills make it a lot easier for terrorists to operate.
Organized crime has always been a cash industry. In 1969, the Treasury stopped issuing $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills specifically to impede crime syndicates — the only entities that were still using such large bills after the introduction of electronic money transfers.
Nowadays, terrorist networks have become important users of cash. No organization understands this better than the United States military. During the early years of coalition operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, American forces distributed cash liberally. From 2003 and 2008, about $19 billion in physical money was handed out to Iraqi suppliers and contractors.
But the military has gradually realized that the anonymity of cash makes it easy for terrorists and insurgents to smuggle in money and make purchases without a trace. That’s why for the past few years the military has been striving to replace its cash transactions with electronic fund transfers and debit card payments in the hopes of achieving a “cashless battlefield,” in the words of Peter Kunkel, a former assistant secretary of the Army.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
1 Comments:
These Guys are smoking some real good stuff!
The Russians attempted to stop runaway inflation in the early nineties by axing the 100 Rouble bills. After all if nobody can pay the inflated prices for purchases but by pushing a wheelbarrow full of 10s and 20s to the store no vendor can demand such inflated high prices then. Well, the next day everybody down to the babushka wearing old lady in a village market was demanding hard cold cash US$ for purchases AND they could make change no problem too. So that's supposed to stop terrorists, mobsters, criminals dead cold in their tracks. GOOD LUCK! No! But it ensures the IRS and everybody else to pick the pockets of Joe Lunchbucket at will! It was all too funny if the weird predictions of the Book of Revelations would not seem to materialize right in front of our eyes!
By the way doesn't it seem counter productive that the "evil boogie man terrorists" are hellbent on destroying the very country whose currency they are allegedly using to store their wealth and conduct their evil business with? C'mon! If and when the average Rotor Router guy cannot fix your blocked toilet but only if "you as well as him wear "the mark of the beast". Who lost their freedom? The goat herder rag-head Afghani weekend terrorist happily conducting business in US$ cash or whatever else or YOU! Joe Shmuck Luncbucket?
Post a Comment
<< Home