After September 11, 2001, federal officials began concerted efforts to crack down on ostensible charities that were in fact schemes to raise funds for Hamas, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. The most notable was the Holy Land Foundation, which had supplied Hamas with over $12 million. But during the eight years Barack Obama was in office, action was taken against only one such organization. Jonathan Schanzer writes:
[I]t is hard to believe that [no more than] one charity has run afoul of our laws. A more likely explanation is that President Obama’s “Countering Violent Extremism” initiative, despite claims of community successes, sidelined law enforcement by working to co-opt rather than confront bad actors. This approach called upon nonprofits to renounce extremism and financing terrorism, even when officials strongly suspected them of engaging in that activity. . . .
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department’s domestic investigations withered, primarily due to mounting legal challenges over the constitutionality of these actions. Indeed, the risk of drawn-out litigation over every designation appeared to outweigh the rewards. . . .
Treasury does continue aggressively to sanction entities abroad, and that helps curb terrorism finance worldwide. But it’s hard to understand how our international partners will take us seriously if this glaring gap remains. Indeed, why should they feel compelled to crack down on their terrorist finance problems if we don’t address our own? . . . [Furthermore], it would be surprising if terrorist groups have not exploited this window of opportunity. It’s time to put our national-security professionals back to work on this crucial portfolio.
Read more on Weekly Standard: http://www.weeklystandard.com/restarting-the-fight-against-terror-funding-charities/article/2007327