Al-Qaeda struggling to raise money following death of Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden’s death and the impact of the Arab Spring revolutions have caused funding problems for al-Qaeda’s leader, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. [Ho New/Reuters]

Al-Qaeda is struggling to raise funds for terrorist attacks and training following the killing last May of leader Osama bin Laden, analysts said.

The series of pro-democracy demonstrations in several Middle East countries last year, known as the Arab Spring, have also blunted the terrorist group’s ability to raise funds, analysts said. The strength of the demonstrations showed that the majority of people in the Arab street did not support al-Qaeda's policy of using violence to advocate for change. The demonstrations also showed that many Arabs rejected al-Qaeda’s rationales for attacking the West.

Bin Laden was killed by a team of U.S. Navy SEALS in Abottabad, Pakistan, last May. The following month, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri succeeded bin Laden as the leader of al-Qaeda. He faced the daunting task of rebuilding an organization that was suffering a depletion of its ranks, particularly in Waziristan, a mountainous region in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. U.S.-led coalition forces have routed and killed hundreds of al-Qaeda members in that area in recent years.

No retaliation for bin Laden’s death

In the nine months since bin Laden’s death, al-Qaeda has not carried out any retaliatory attacks. A lack of funding may be one reason the terrorist group has thus far not struck back. Large operations, the kind favored by al-Qaeda, require funding for recruiting, training and execution. Vigilance by Western and Arab security services is helping to keep al-Qaeda in check, analysts said.

Reports of al-Qaeda’s struggles to raise funds for terrorist operations have circulated for years, analysts said. Al-Zawahiri highlighted the issue explicitly in a June 2005 letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq.

Al-Zawahiri requested that al-Zarqawi transfer $100,000 to the leadership of the organization. In his letter, al-Zawahri referred to an interruption in al-Qaeda’s funding following the 2007 arrest of Abu Faraj al-Libi, a Libyan national and key al-Qaeda member who is being held in Guantanamo Bay. In the letter, al-Zawahiri described the group’s financial status as “good” in general.

It is not clear if donations to al-Qaeda, which come mostly from supporters in Gulf countries, declined further or increased in the years after this letter was written. But there is evidence the organization is struggling in terms of manpower.

An Afghani operative who fought alongside al-Qaeda said the organization’s presence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has contracted significantly, its ranks thinning to no more than a few dozen individuals. The young Afghan, named Hafez Hanif, told Newsweek in an interview published January 2 that he sought information about a group of al-Qaeda fighters that he had not heard from since the killing of bin Laden. In the interview, Hanif said he learned the fighters were living in dire conditions, and their ranks were greatly depleted.

Hanif said “money is a more significant problem [for al-Qaeda] than the thinning of its ranks.” The fighter’s uncle said his sources confirmed that contributions to al-Qaeda, which used to top out in the millions of dollars each year, have dried up, the magazine reported.

Donor funds flowing to other causes

It appears that donor funds now go to causes other than al-Qaeda. The terrorist group has apparently been marginalized, with its leaders isolated in their Waziristan hideout, analysts said. “Arab people now think the fight should be political at home and not terrorism aimed at the West,” Hanif’s uncle told Newsweek, adding that “the peaceful struggle on Arab streets has accomplished more than bin Laden and al-Zawahiri ever have.”

If the information provided by these Afghans is true, it would reinforce the widely held belief the organization is at risk of ceasing to be an effective force. Al-Qaeda was strong in Afghanistan before the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The absence of al-Qaeda fighters in the battles being waged by the Pakistani and Afghan branches of the Taliban against the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Western forces is a strong indication of the weakening of the group.

Nonetheless, the fact that al-Qaeda is facing these problems in Waziristan does not mean the organization is finished. The organization could direct operatives to carry out a suicide attack to avenge bin Laden’s killing. Such an attack, however, would not change the fact that al-Qaeda is running short of fighters and funds.