A post I've put up at Running Scared:
Reading Terror ties at a Middle Eastern bank?, I am struck by both sides of the issue, yet again.
Side one: you should not help terrorists.
Side two: you should deposit money in bank accounts, if the correct deposit slip is used and you're a bank.
I think that a bank should do business as usual, and shouldn't be peering in to every transaction in every one of their customer's accounts by any means. As true as this is, though, it's also important that things like terrorist watch lists are recognized, and when someone opens a new account, references like that one should be checked. If a person is affiliated with a terrorist organization, an International bank should not be issuing them an account. I don't think that's an unreasonable request.
It's funny, my first thought when reading this was "It's a bank, it's supposed to move people's money around for them". As I read, though, I came to the above conclusion. Terrorist "watch lists" and "wanted lists" exist because people are breaking laws and hurting other people, and they're in place for the greater good. (I will not get into whether or not people who are on the lists belong there).
I do not know whether or not the Arab Bank has terrorist ties, they certainly protest loudly enough that they do not. I do believe that it is wrong of them to assist in moving money for people involved in terrorist acts, and I sincerely hope that their efforts to prevent this from happening in the future are successful
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