Transnational Threats : Smuggling and Trafficking in Arms, Drugs, and Human Life

This collection of essays demonstrates how the security of Americans is potentially threatened by individuals and governments who are engaged in the illicit trade in arms, drugs, and human beings in distant parts of the globe. More than just a threat to Americans, the essays underscore that these activities are often detrimental to the United States interests around the world due to the destabilizing impact that each activity can have on a nation or region. More revealing is how terrorists benefit from this illegal trade, generating critical sources of funding used for everything from recruiting to procurement of weapons and explosives of all types to extend and expand the scope of their struggle.