Why the U.S. Isn’t Bombing ISIS Oil Infrastructure
Oil is a Coveted Resource. No One, Including Russia, Wants to Destroy It.
The cash flow is staggering. It’s now reported that ISIS is raking in as much as $50 million dollars a month from the sale of crude oil. The terrorist group has a firm grip on oilfields throughout Iraq and Syria, with no letup in sight. Why is that?
It seems no one is hitting them where it counts by cutting off their money supply. Is oil too precious a commodity to destroy, even in the interest of peace?
FOX News Business anchor Charles Payne invited Lisa Daftari (Editor-in-Chief of The Foreign Desk) and Robert J. O’Neill (former Navy SEAL and FOX News contributor on military strategy) for expert insight.
Payne: “For some reason, their oil infrastructure isn’t the main target for our bombing mission. We know ISIS is the largest, wealthiest terrorist organization in the world. It’s time to hit them where it’ll hurt the most… We know this is where the money is. Why are we reluctant to bomb?”
O’Neill: “It’s a tough one, because someone wants to get the oil. Maybe we can get it eventually. We’ve only hit a couple of the infrastructure places. Since Russia’s been involved, they haven’t hit any. Everybody wants a piece of the oil.”
Payne: “Does that get back to the notion that this war is all about oil anyway?”
O’Neill: “Oil is important. Everybody needs it. Look at ISIS, a terrorist organization… They’re selling oil to people…from Iraq, Syria into Turkey, they’re making money off it. Everyone’s making money off it. No one wants to destroy it.”
Daftari: “There’s also the dilemma…there are about 10 million people living in ISIS-controlled areas. Do we want to cut people off from the way they live their daily life? ISIS has made it very hard to take down their oil infrastructure. It’s their black gold. It’s the asset they protect the most. They’re going to sell it cheap to keep that revenue coming.”
Payne: “In any other war we would try to figure out how to cut off sources of funding. You cut off food supplies. You cut off money. It’s like cutting off the head, you feel like the rest of the body will fall.”
Daftari: “It’s such a built-in asset for them. They already have a market…10 million people. They’re selling it so incredibly cheap, they’re always going to have this demand. And they always go for the best. They never cut corners. The best technicians. The best engineers. That’s why they’re so upset about the migrants going west…this ‘brain drain’ is going to affect us.”
Payne: “Rob, how many potential terrorists could be embedded in these (migrant) groups heading to Europe?”
O’Neill: “They’re all men…herding themselves through canals. All fighting-age males. Realistically, two percent, probably are ISIS. It’s a Trojan horse. It’s coming. It’s going to come home, here, to roost.”