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for his suspected involvement in the crime. The Greek
authorities, which had originally apprehended Rashid FIGHTERS FOR THE FREEDOM OF
on false passport charges, turned down multiple U.S. ISRAEL. See STERN GANG.
extradition requests and decided instead to try Rashid
in Greece.
During 1982, the very year that they attacked the FINANCING TERRORISM
Pan Am jet, 15 May members made the mistake of
recruiting former Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) captain Adnan Awad. They ordered Awad to The often-spectacular nature of terrorist activities
blow up a Jewish-owned Hilton Hotel in Geneva with sometimes obscures the simple fact that terrorist orga-
a bomb sewn into the seams of his carry-on luggage. nizations need financial support to sustain operations.
Instead, he turned himself in to American and Swiss Without some method of securing funds, groups con-
authorities and told them everything he knew about ducting terrorist actions would be unable to function.
the plot. Two years later, Awad traveled to the United This funding may be necessary for activities ranging
States to testify against Rashid in the Hawaii jet from proselytizing to training to purchasing materials
bombing case, and U.S. authorities put him into the for specific operations to basic commodities such as
witness protection program. A Greek court convicted food and lodging.
Rashid in 1992. However, he went free four years later The sources of funding vary according to the polit-
and was finally extradited to the United States in ical environment in which a given terrorist organi-
1998. Once arraigned in the United States, Rashid zation exists and the goals of the organization. For
attempted to dismiss most of the U.S. indictment example, several groups appeared in Western Europe
counts against him, saying he had already been tried in the 1970s espousing a vague leftist ideology and
in Greece. He lost this appeal in December 2000. resorting to actions such as kidnapping high-ranking
Press accounts have further linked Rashid and government and corporate officials. The relatively
15 May with the 1986 midair bombing of a TWA low cost of these operations meant that these groups
flight from Rome to Athens. However, the group then did not require a large, steady supply of funding.
disbanded in the mid-1980s, according to the State Sometimes these groups resorted to illegal activities
Department; it dissolved when important members like bank robbery to raise revenue. Many U.S.-based
left to join the Special Operations Group of Al Fatah, terrorist groups have resorted to bank robberies, as
led by Colonel Abdallah Abd El Labib, often known well; in the 1980s, a white supremacist group known
as Colonel Hawari. as the Order netted more than $3 million in a series of
robberies staged to fund their right-wing revolution.
See also AL FATAH; POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF
In contrast, some organizations have more precise
PALESTINE; SADAAM HUSSEIN
objectives and depend on an assortment of methods
to reach these objectives, including terrorism. These
Further Reading
organizations need reliable sources of ongoing fund-
Del Sesto, Cristina. “Portrait of the Terrorist as an ing. For instance, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Impatient Witness; An Isolated Adnan Awad Has Been Colombia, also known as the FARC, has been in exis-
Waiting for Seven Years to Testify.” Washington Post, tence since the mid-1960s. The FARC represents the
May 26, 1991. interests of Colombian peasants and endorses a social-
Emerson, Steven, and Cristina Del Sesto. Terrorist: The ist political philosophy with the goal of seizing national
Inside Story of the Highest-Ranking Iraqi Terrorist Ever power. The country’s illegal drug trade has proved to
to Defect to the West. New York: Villard, 1991. be a valuable source of revenue for the organization.
Suro, Roberto, and Bill Miller. “U.S. Takes Alleged
Terrorist Into Custody Years After Pan Am Blast.”
Washington Post, June 4, 1998. PUBLIC FUNDING SOURCES
U.S. Department of State. Patterns of Global Terrorism 1999:
Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism. www.state.gov. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, terrorist orga-
U.S. Department of State. Patterns of Global Terrorism. nizations typically conducted activities within the con-
U.S. Department of State Publication 10321. www. text of the political rivalry between the Soviet Union
state.gov. and the United States. In this environment, terrorist