17th February 2002 Page 15 of 28

wrong because of faulty intelligence. That is worth knowing. If some Special Forces
soldiers are alleged to have mistreated civilians, that may be understandable, but it is also
worth knowing, especially for the military.

Can The Post do better in the way it presents these stories at a time when American
emotions are still raw? I think so. All of these stories are based on accounts by Afghans.
They are numerous, powerful and on the record. But in some cases it would help to state
the obvious: These accounts cannot be independently confirmed at this time. It would
help to say whether the interviews were conducted through a translator, to make sure that
neutral language is used in describing allegations or denials, and to report if signs of
physical abuse were noticeable.

Military success demonstrates one aspect of American power. No-punches-pulled

reporting demonstrates another.

Washington Post
Al Qaeda's Road Paved With Gold
Secret Shipments Traced Through a Lax System In United Arab Emirates
Douglas Farah

Just as the United States and its allies swept toward Afghanistan's main cities last
autumn, the ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network sent waves of
couriers with bars of gold and bundles ofdollars across the porous border into Pakistan.

In small shops and businesses along the border, the money and gold, taken from
Afghanistan's banks and national coffers, were collected and moved by trusted Taliban
and al Qaeda operatives to the port city of Karachi, Pakistan, according to sources
familiar with the events.

Then, using couriers and the virtually untraceable hawala money transfer system, they
transferred millions of dollars to this desert sheikdom, where the assets were converted to
gold bullion. The riches of the Taliban and al Qaeda were subsequently scattered around
the world ~ including some that went to the United States ~ through a financial structure
that has been little affected by the international efforts to seize suspected terrorist assets.

This account of the flight of the Taliban and al Qaeda treasure from Afghanistan is based
on dozens of interviews in Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Europe and the United
States. The gold trail was described by intelligence officers, law enforcement officials,
gold brokers, and sources with direct knowledge of some of al Qaeda's financial
movements, but not by Taliban or al Qaeda operatives.

http://www.miraserve.com/pressrev/EN17feb02.htm 5/6/2003
 washingtonpost.com: Al Qaeda's Road Paved With Gold Page 1 of 5
•ft*

Al Qaeda's Road Paved With Gold

Secret Shipments Traced Through a Lax System In United Arab Emirates

By Douglas Farah
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, February 17, 2002; Page A01

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Just as the United States and its allies swept toward Afghanistan's
main cities last autumn, the ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden 's al Qaeda network sent waves of
couriers with bars of gold and bundles ofdollars across the porous border into Pakistan.

In small shops and businesses along the border, the money and gold, taken from Afghanistan's banks
and national coffers, were collected and moved by trusted Taliban and al Qaeda operatives to the port
city of Karachi, Pakistan, according to sources familiar with the events.

Then, using couriers and the virtually untraceable hawala money transfer system, they transferred
millions of dollars to this desert sheikdom, where the assets were converted to gold bullion. The riches
of the Taliban and al Qaeda were subsequently scattered around the world ~ including some that went to
the United States — through a financial structure that has been little affected by the international efforts
to seize suspected terrorist assets.

This account of the flight of the Taliban and al Qaeda treasure from Afghanistan is based on dozens of
interviews in Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Europe and the United States. The gold trail was
described by intelligence officers, law enforcement officials, gold brokers, and sources with direct
knowledge of some of al Qaeda's financial movements, but not by Taliban or al Qaeda operatives.

The interviews offered a tantalizing glimpse into the critical yet mysterious role played by gold in the
finances of al Qaeda, both before and after the Sept. 1 1 attacks. Gold has allowed the Taliban and bin
Laden to largely preserve their financial resources, despite the military attack that battered their forces in
Afghanistan, investigators and intelligence sources said.

Al Qaeda also used diamonds purchased in Sierra Leone and the Democratifc'<Republic of Congo,
tanzanite from Tanzania and other commodities to make money and hide assets. But gold played a
uniquely important role in the group's financial structure, investigators and intelligence sources said,
because it is a global currency.

"Gold is a huge factor in the moving of terrorist money because you can melt it, smelt it or deposit it on
account with no questions asked," said a senior U.S. law enforcement official investigating gold
transactions. "Why move it through Dubai? Because there is a willful blindness there."

Exempt from international reporting requirements for financial transactions, gold is a favored
commodity in laundering money from drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorist activities, U.S.
officials said. In addition, Dubai, one of seven sheikdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, has
one of the world's largest and least regulated gold markets, making it an ideal place to hide.

Dubai is also one of the region's most open banking centers and is the commercial capital of the United
Arab Emirates, one of three countries that maintained diplomatic relations with the Taliban until shortly
after Sept. 11. Sitting at a strategic crossroad of the Persian Gulf, South Asia and Africa, Dubai has long
been a financial hub for Islamic militant groups. Much of the $500,000 used to fund the Sept. 1 1 attacks
came through Dubai, investigators believe. ~

http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/qdagold.htm 5/29/03