The "fog of war" has long befuddled military and political leaders. Of all the battlefronts in today's war on terrorism, few are as "foggy" as efforts to combat terrorist financing. The Council on Foreign Relations established its Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing to evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to disrupt terrorist financing. The Task Force found that although al-Qaeda's finances have long been disrupted, they have not been destroyed -- and that as long as al-Qaeda retains access to a viable financial network, it will remain a lethal threat to the United States. Al-Qaeda's financial network is characterized by layers and redundancies, raising and moving money internationally in a variety of manners. For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al-Qaeda.

And for years, Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem. Following September 11, 2001, the U.S. government undertook many successful initiatives to curtail the financing of terrorism. Fundamentally, however, U.S. efforts remain impeded by a lack of political will among U.S.

allies. Confronted with this lack of political will, the Bush administration appears to have made a policy decision not to use the full power of U.S. influence to pressure other governments to combat terrorist financing more effectively. Present efforts are not commensurate with the ongoing threat to U.S. national security. With this core finding in mind, this Task Force report offers a number of specific recommendations to assure a more effective U.

S. and international response.