The role of domestic criminal activity in generating financial and operational support for terrorism is considered in a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service.
So-called “terrorist precursor crimes” may include various types of fraud, counterfeiting, narcotics trade, and illegal weapons procurement.
“This report provides an overview of the types of terrorist precursor crimes known, and/or alleged, to have been employed by individuals and/or groups in the United States. The report highlights issues related to the breadth of this activity in the United States, as well as the opportunities for intelligence collection and law enforcement-related countermeasures.”
But it is not immediately clear that “terrorist precursor crime” is a useful analytical construct since only “a very small percentage of individuals engaged in such activity” are likely to have any “nexus to terrorism.”
A copy of the new CRS report was obtained by Secrecy News.
See “Terrorist Precursor Crimes: Issues and Options for Congress,” May 24, 2007.
America’s affordability problem is bigger than home prices and rents. The best housing policies make it easier to build homes, and recognize how housing connects to other domains.
America’s affordability problem, for instance, is bigger than home prices and rents. How we build affects household costs like insurance and utilities.
As humans expand our geographic reach, encroach on untouched natural territories, and interact more with animal populations, we will encounter novel zoonotic diseases that threaten the human body. The sooner we act to address these risks, the better.
This report serves as a landscape assessment and toolbox from which local governments can negotiate an informed position when it comes to the levers available to them and includes a first-of-its kind analysis of eight executed community benefits agreements.