U.S.: Al-Qaeda funding disrupted

By Ken Dilanian

WASHINGTON -- U.S.-led international efforts to disrupt al-Qaeda's sources of money have left the terrorist network in "the worst financial position they've been in three years," and the Obama administration is trying to put the same pressure on the Taliban, the Treasury Department's top terrorism fighter says. sharia

"We've got al-Qaeda under significant stress," Stuart Levey, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, tells USA TODAY. "The U.S. and its allies have applied a lot of pressure and successfully disrupted most of their facilitation networks."

The details and methods of that pressure are largely secret, but Treasury records show the department has designated hundreds of people and institutions as terrorists, seeking to bar them from the international banking system.

Under presidential order, Treasury freezes the assets of accused terrorism financiers and forbids Americans from doing business with them. Other governments, and private banks, often follow suit.

Since January, Treasury has taken those steps against Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani terrorist group responsible for the November attacks in Mumbai that killed 166; Abdul Haq, accused by Treasury of planning unrealized attacks against the 2008 Beijing Olympics; al-Qaeda in Iraq member Abu Khalaf; and several al-Qaeda supporters in Iran, including Osama bin Laden's son Sa'ad bin ....