Immigrant Cash Flow

The Effect of Immigration

Many third world countries have a powerful asset that they export; human beings. In many impoverished countries many of the locals immigrate to wealthier countries where they work hard and send some of their earnings back home. Since wealthier countries provide higher paying salaries the sums sent by the immigrants back to their home countries are considered very significant. Thanks to this growing trend of immigrant workers, the accumulation of these sums being sent abroad is truly staggering. Thanks to various attempts at tracking cash flow abroad for the purpose of fighting terror these sums have been tracked. Recent analysis has placed the total sums being transferred a year to be somewhere in the area of several hundred billion dollars. If such a sum were to be translated into an international business it would place the immigrants as the company with the third biggest international revenue.

Is it a Good Thing?

Is this a good thing? Depends who you ask! Obviously the immigrants who travel to foreign countries and work hard for their families feel they are doing the right thing. The families that they support in their impoverished homelands don't see anything wrong with the money they are receiving. Even so, there are those who think that this is a problem. I will discuss the opinions of those who object in my next blog. If this issue is of interest please read the next blog and see why some people object and what I have to say on the matter.

Blaming Al Qaeda

Everything May Be True

Blaming Al Qaeda for terrorist attacks perpetrated in Iraq may well be absolutely correct. Al Qaeda is trying to boost it's influence in Iraq and such an increase in influence is exactly what the U.S fears might happen in Iraq. In successfully carrying out terrorist strikes against people viewed as "infidels" Al Qaeda stands to gain more local Sunni support. It is quite possible that this terrorist strike was organised and carried out by terrorist representing Al Qaeda. On the other hand, another alternative also presents itself. Perhaps blaming Al Qaeda is really not such a good idea.

Legitimising Al Qaeda

If Al Qaeda tries to operate in Iraq, it must do so with local Iraqis. In order for this to be feasible the local Iraqis need to believe that Al Qaeda is a successful organisation that knows what it is doing and is feared by the West. Terrorist organisations live off being publicised. Publicising the suspicion that the strikes were perpetrated by Al Qaeda gives the organisation of Al Qaeda exactly what they want. Al Qaeda wants to be seen as a powerful world wide terrorist organisation. Only if it is viewed as such will it be able to recruit insurgents world wide. Therefore, the result of recognising terrorist acts as perpetrated by Al Qaeda is an immediate expansion of the ranks of Al Qaeda in Iraq - something that is probably very undesirable now or ever! When you look at things in this light, it would seem that the U.S is creating an Al Qaeda problem in Iraq.