An Economic Analysis of the Financial Records of al-Qa'ida in Iraq

Benjamin Bahney, Howard J. Shatz, Carroll Ganier, Renny McPherson, Barbara Sude

with Sara Beth Elson, Ghassan Schbley

ResearchPublished Dec 15, 2010

This monograph analyzes the finances of the militant group al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI) in Anbar province during 2005 and 2006, at the peak of the group's power and influence. The authors draw on captured documents that give details on the daily financial transactions of one specific sector within Anbar province and of the financial transactions of the AQI provincial administration. Some of their conclusions are: AQI was a hierarchical organization with decentralized decisionmaking; AQI in Anbar was profitable enough to send substantial revenues out of the province in 2006; AQI relied on extortion, theft, and black market sales to fund its operations in Anbar; AQI needed large, regular revenue sources to fund its operations, but its administrative leaders did not hold much cash on hand. The authors' interpretation of data on compensation practices and participants' risk of death indicates that AQI members were poorly compensated and suggests that they were not motivated primarily by money to join the group. The authors also find that mounting attacks required organizational expenditures well beyond the cost of material used in attacks. One major conclusion is that disrupting AQI's financial flows could disrupt the pace of their attacks.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2010
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 114
  • Paperback Price: $22.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-5039-7
  • Document Number: MG-1026-OSD

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RAND Style Manual
Bahney, Benjamin, Howard J. Shatz, Carroll Ganier, Renny McPherson, and Barbara Sude, An Economic Analysis of the Financial Records of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, RAND Corporation, MG-1026-OSD, 2010. As of September 12, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1026.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Bahney, Benjamin, Howard J. Shatz, Carroll Ganier, Renny McPherson, and Barbara Sude, An Economic Analysis of the Financial Records of al-Qa'ida in Iraq. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2010. https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1026.html. Also available in print form.
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The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community.

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