Book Reviews

Being Wrong About the Big Issues
Review of Satanic Purses: Money, Myth and Misinformation in the War on Terror by R.T. Naylor
by Jeffrey Breinholt

Published on April 6th, 2007
These days, there is quite a bit of frustration about how much secrecy has engulfed post-9/11 American counterterrorism efforts. In law enforcement and intelligence, a certain amount of secrecy is inevitable, in order to preserve the sanctity on ongoing operations and sensitive source and methods. Cops and spies, after all, depend on the element of surprise. Meanwhile, we live in a democracy. The trick for any republic is to strike the proper balance between operational security and the public’s right to know what is being done by their government in their name.  One aspect of U.S. counterterrorism that has not been cloaked in so much secrecy is efforts to combat terrorist financing, in part because success depend so much on the private sector and international cooperation. American officials involved in anti-financing initiatives have been very open what they have been doing in Congressional testimony, public statements and articles since 9/11. To understand how the United States is tackling the problem of terrorist financing - our goals and methods - one need only have access to the Internet.