say U.S. officials . . .
U.S. officials: Cash from Iraq funds Al Qaeda
As CIA hunts for bin Laden, it uncovers money trailBy Greg Miller
Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
May 20, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A major CIA effort launched last year to hunt down Osama bin Laden has produced no significant leads on his whereabouts but has helped track an alarming increase in the movement of Al Qaeda operatives and money into Pakistan's tribal territories, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the operation.
In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan increasingly is being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.
The influx of money has bolstered Al Qaeda's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping and reasserting influence over its far-flung network. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of Al Qaeda funds, with the network's leadership surviving to a large extent on money coming in from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells.
Little more than a year ago, Al Qaeda's core command was thought to be in a financial crunch. But U.S. officials said cash shipped from Iraq has eased those troubles.
"Iraq is a big moneymaker for them," said a senior U.S. counterterrorism official.
"We're not any closer (to finding them)," said a senior U.S. military official who monitors the intelligence on the hunt for bin Laden.
more:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pakistan_5smay20,1,4545376.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true 
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