Organized Crime and Terrorism

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Treverton et all define crime and terrorism as illegal activities which greatly revolve around economic interests. The document accurately depicts how ‘organized crime seeks money and why terrorism needs it’ . Furthermore, according to the authors, the definitions about crime presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United Nations (UN), and the International Police (INTERPOL) coincide in some terms regarding the essence of organized crime. All of the aforementioned identify key words within their definitions such as groups of individuals working under illegal structures with profitable aims.

On the other hand, the article highlights the importance of the effects that globalization and Information Technology (IT) have provided to the development and expansion of the different presentations of organized crime and terrorism. Indeed, new technology in communications has provided secure environments and secrecy to criminals and terrorists. IT provides numerous alternatives to transmit information through virtual safe spaces like the so-called ‘virtual dead drops’ . Furthermore, internet not only provides a valuable source of material procurement, but also serves as a secure channel for indoctrination and recruitment of criminals and terrorists.

Even though, Treverton et all emphasize that terrorism is not very expensive and list relative low-cost examples such as the terrorist attack in Madrid in 2004 or the London bombings in 2005; other experts as Ehrenfeld challenges this assertion and suggests that ‘the maintenance and expansion of terrorist bases require constant infusions of large amounts of money’ . Thus, it would be important that the document made the distinction between the costs of the execution of a terr...

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...ctivity-drugs, kidnapping, and extortion (in that order, perhaps $250 million total)’ . Hence, one could say that the FARC suffered a radical transformation from an insurgent movement into a well-known narco-terrorist organization which has oriented its efforts to the commercialization of cocaine and the execution of regular criminal activities.

To conclude, the document presents interesting information about the definitions, motivations, similarities, and differences between organized crime and terrorism. Besides, it accurately describes the effects of globalization and IT in the expansion and strengthening of both criminal and terrorist organizations. However, the document presents some outdated information and some other inexact details which may make it lose objectivity. Nonetheless, the document provides basic information for scholars and security experts.

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