"The Islamic State's Ultimate Goal Is To Control The Oil ..." Topic

…Fields In The Middle East.

"Islamic State's thirst for blood has the world on edge, but its equally insatiable yearning for oil could prove a "catastrophe" for the global economy if the terror organization isn't stopped, experts say.

The jihadist group, formerly known as ISIS, now controls seven oil fields and two small refineries in northern Iraq, bringing in as much as $2 USD million per day by selling up to 40,000 barrels via middlemen in illicit deals. The black market oil sells for roughly $25 USD to $60 USD per barrel, compared to the current market rate of $102 USD, according to Luay al-Khatteeb, founder and executive director of the Iraq Energy Institute. And while this is a veritable drop in the global bucket of oil production, the crude spigot will continue translating into terror funds for Islamic State militants if unchecked, al-Khatteeb and other experts told FoxNews.com…"

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Amicalement
Armand

"Islamic State's thirst for blood has the world on edge, but its equally insatiable yearning for oil could prove a "catastrophe" for the global economy if the terror organization isn't stopped, experts say.

…The black market oil sells for roughly $25 USD USD to $60 USD USD per barrel, compared to the current market rate of $102 USD USD,

Saddam Hussein was doing the same thing just before we nailed him. He was undercutting the OPEC price for oil by smuggling out millions of barrels at cut-rate prices under the completely corrupt UN 'Oil For Food' program. He was ing in everybody's soup. He was not allowed to continue.

Somebody with muscle is going to roll back this Caliphate.

"Somebody with muscle is going to roll back this Caliphate."

But not from the air …

Right. But without air presence the caliphate is doomed, IF ground forces take them out. Air strikes will keep the caliphate from expanding, might even diminish them significantly, but ground forces will occupy "their" territory and eradicate them. It's all up to the caliphate's coreligionist enemies. This could take a while….

I'd rather control the derivatives of the Afghan poppy fields especially if I was getting cozy with the Mexican drug cartels. Look at America's appetite for heroine.

Wouldn't any Middle Eastern state with potentially flexible borders want to control oil fields?

Put differently, were I the leader of any new nation forming (or attempting to form), either in a post-colonial era or today, and our borders were ill-defined as yet, I would certainly make it a priority to include within those borders any potentially valuable natural resources before things became stable again.

Oil is the most obvious natural resource in the Middle East, and given the current nature of industry and economics, the most certain means to gain foreign hard currency, Those are important to any developing nation.

I wonder do PMC's have special forces? Large multi-nationals certainly have departments that deal in the murky world of evaluating and analysing their competitors, which includes spying and sabotage. I think, as Western Governments get more squeamish about direct intervention the PMC's for MN's, already in situ, will act more aggressively.

Now a PMC on contract for an oil company and or a state actor under threat, versus jihadist fanatics would be an interesting game, Mammon versus Allah, place your bets.

Regardess of the reasons terrorists, insurgents, etc. "go to war" … $$$ is still needed to continue their cause …

And also note : CAS alone won't stop ISIS, but along with SF, CIA types working with regional forces on the ground … the threat of this most radical version of islamic terrorism could be attrited to the point of being much less effective, over time … And yes, many PMCs are former Spec Ops types … That is why they are so well paid and readily reruited … Their skill sets are a very useful commidity … more so then just a regular soldier … in most cases …