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Despite US pressure, Turkey fails to cut Islamic State oil revenue

Sep 14, 2014 4:33 am By Robert Spencer

Kerry3The whole world rushes to condemn the Islamic State — and yet, when it comes to doing something effective to stop it, suddenly it becomes more difficult. And the Obama administration’s incoherence regarding the anti-Assad forces in Syria — arbitrarily designating some jihadis as “moderate” and arming them to fight those with whom they’re actually collaborating — is unlikely to inspire confidence, especially in so untrustworthy and self-serving an ally as Turkey.

“Turkey fails to cut Islamic State oil revenue despite US pressure,” by David E. Sanger and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Sydney Morning Herald, September 14, 2014 (thanks to Kenneth):

Washington: The Obama administration is struggling to cut off the millions of dollars in oil revenue that has made the Islamic State one of the wealthiest terror groups in history, but, so far, has been unable to persuade Turkey, the NATO ally where much of the oil is traded on the black market, to crack down on an extensive sales network.

Western intelligence officials say they can track the Islamic State oil shipments as they move across Iraq and into Turkey’s southern border regions.

Despite extensive discussions inside the Pentagon, US forces have, so far, not attacked the tanker trucks.

However, a senior administration official said on Friday “that remains an option”.

Difficulties over a wider US-led effort against the Islamic State were evident in US Secretary of State John Kerry’s talks in Cairo where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the military coalition to target groups other than the Islamic State.

Turkey’s failure to help choke off the oil trade symbolises the magnitude of the challenges facing the White House both in assembling a coalition to counter the Sunni militant group and in starving its lifeblood.

The Islamic State’s access to cash is critical to its ability to recruit members, meet its growing payroll of fighters, expand its reach and operate across the territory of two countries.

“Turkey, in many ways, is a wild card in this coalition equation,” said Juan Zarate, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

“It’s a great disappointment: There is a real danger that the effort to degrade and destroy ISIS is at risk,” Mr Zarate said, referring to the Islamic State. “You have a major NATO ally, and it is not clear they are willing and able to cut off flows of funds, fighters and support to ISIS.”

Turkey declined to sign a communique on Thursday in Saudi Arabia that committed Persian Gulf states in the region to counter the Islamic State, even limited to the extent each nation considered “appropriate”.

Turkish officials told their US counterparts that with 49 Turkish diplomats being held as hostages in Iraq, they could not risk taking a public stance against the terror group.

Still, administration officials say they believe Turkey could substantially disrupt the cash flow to the Islamic State if it tried.

“Like any sort of black market smuggling operation, if you devote the resources and the effort to attack it, you are unlikely to eradicate it, but you are likely to put a very significant dent in it,” a senior administration official said on Saturday.

At the core of the talks are the dozen or so oil fields and refineries in Iraq and Syria on territory the group has controlled. The output has provided a steady stream of financing, which experts place at $US1 million ($1.1 million) to $US2 million a day; a pittance in terms of the global oil market, but a huge windfall for a terror group.

Underscoring the complexity of Mr Kerry’s mission to gain support in the Middle East, the Egyptian President earlier told the visiting Secretary of State that any international coalition against terrorism should not just focus on Islamic State militants, but also Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and the Egyptian regime’s foe, the Muslim Brotherhood….

How awkward to make such a demand of an administration that supported the Brotherhood.

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Filed Under: Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), Turkey, United States Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. RichardL says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 5:18 am

    Turkey is run by an islamic regime. Therefore Turkey is the enemy. But until the West accepts that we are at war with islam, Turkey can do the damage they do.

    • JIMJFOX says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 5:55 am

      TURKEY needs to be told- since you refuse to support the fight against ISIS, you are a supporter and not an ally, and as such no longer in NATO.

      With us or against us- which is it?

      • john spielman says

        Sep 14, 2014 at 7:42 am

        because Turkey is no longer secular it should be kicked out of NATO regardless.

    • Charli Main says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 7:25 am

      The Turks have ALWAYS been the implacable enemy of Europe since they crossed the Dardanelles in 1354 AD .
      The unbending ambition of the Muslims Turks, is and always has been, to take Rome and convert Saint Peter´s into a Mosque.
      Islam´s ultimate triumph over the infidels of Europe.

  2. Vapourking says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 5:36 am

    We need to psychologically adjust the way we think, if we truly want to rid the west of Islam, rather than argue the million reasons why Islam should be outlawed, could anyone seriously present 1 argument why we shouldn’t?

    • JIMJFOX says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 5:57 am

      1.6 BILLION reasons- its a numbers game. Does anyone suppose that If muslims numbered a few hundred thousand the rules would not be different?

  3. RichardL says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 5:43 am

    one little episode on General Allen – Obama’s leader for his overseas contingency action against the non-islamic IS: during the kick-off meeting for Bright Star 2009 with all field-grade officers from participating militaries present, Allen opened by stressing that islam is the religion of peace and that whenever he came to an islamic country the call to prayer is such a sweet sound to him. The oldest Egyptian general then used the opportunity to give a little speech about how filthy infidels were to connect allah’s religion to terrorism. Since then I am a big fan of General Allen and knew he would be Obama’s darling.

  4. duh_swami says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 5:46 am

    Money talks…ISIS listens. As long as Allah gets his 20% oil sales are Islamo-legal.

  5. JIMJFOX says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 6:08 am

    Surely it would be a simple matter to bomb a few tankers and disrupt the necessary oil pipelines? That would make Turkey sit up and take notice…
    and ISIS, too. Not bloody rocket science is it?

  6. fair_dinkum says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 6:18 am

    targeting the supply lines “remains an option” ..theyve been asked/told…

    theyve refused. the supply line is one of many options.
    they have a big, well organised and well supported armed forces. if they are drawn in on the wrong side, and turkey isnt so secular nowdays, theyd be a handful.

    i think the 1st thing theyre doing is burying their heads in the sand. they know it will be a major issue down the line. a significant one. but maybe not. we could just destroy it nearer to the other end and just say a sarc/ sorry to turkey.

    unlucky.

  7. fair_dinkum says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 6:28 am

    and also in turkey..and supporting al – aqaeda

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11093478/Turkish-government-co-operated-with-al-Qaeda-in-Syria-says-former-US-ambassador.html

    • John McGoo says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 3:22 pm

      Read this article if you want to learn how deeply Turkey and Erdoğan are involved in supporting the al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria: http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/abdullah-bozkurt/erdogan-regime-sends-wrong-signals-about-isil_358534.html

  8. Rob says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 6:59 am

    Are there some Somali pirates who could be directed to the ISIL oil tankers?
    Who owns these tankers?
    Who insures them?

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 9:25 pm

      They don’t have their own tankers—not yet, anyway, Rob. They are selling their oil—in some cases pretty openly, in others, under the table—to dealers in Turkey and Iraq, who either use it domestically or else put it in with legitimate oil exports.

      Oil, by its very nature, is not traceable in origin past a certain point.

  9. Angemon says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 7:53 am

    The Obama administration is struggling to cut off the millions of dollars in oil revenue that has made the Islamic State one of the wealthiest terror groups in history, but, so far, has been unable to persuade Turkey, the NATO ally where much of the oil is traded on the black market, to crack down on an extensive sales network.

    Where’s the BDS when we need it?

  10. mortimer says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 8:14 am

    Time for economic sanctions against Turkey and the officers of its government .

  11. captainjohann says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 9:03 am

    When Cameron talked about annihilating ISIL, he first said Islam is religion of peace. This gives the game away as 300 British ex servicemen are fighting with ISIS>If only iSIL has not killed the two Americans and British, what would Obama do? He will be targetting Syrians. The boots on ground is of Iran which is fighting along with Kurds. Everyone in the world sees the American hypocrisy.

  12. Jay Boo says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 9:22 am

    Despite US pressure???
    Against this self-serving ally Turkey?

    Let us guess.
    John Kerry went over there and frowned and then gave a look of disapproval with a pout.
    His pimp-daddy Turkey then slapped him down and told him not to mess in Muslim affairs.

  13. Jay Boo says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 9:23 am

    Off-Topic
    I am not sure if this pimp is a Muslim or not

    Shahid Hassan Muslim, aka “Sharp

    http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/August/14-crt-845.html

  14. Jerry says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 9:32 am

    Why don’t they simply bomb those resources out of production?

  15. R Cole says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 9:39 am

    So much money – these ISIS militants can even afford to buy M&M’s.

    On Aljazeera they are bemoaning the fact that the west is concentrating solely on the Sunni militants – but that there are Shi’a militia causing problems also.

    And then there is the state of Libya – with dictator removed [in part by the west] – is becoming or has become a failed state.

    But with ME oil – we could see there was always going to be some sort of collision. Interesting the way it is working out. We could foresee there was the possibility of a militant take over of the oil fields. Fears have been realized. {Hence the Saudi sense of urgency – it ain’t Islam useless we say it is – go get ISIS dam it!} The militants have now taken over some fields – – but not to deprive the western / out of favor non-Muslim world of supply – being what it is – oil – can easily find markets for their smuggled – product made significantly more attractive by – its reduced price. Instead are using its sale to sustain and build a more formidable fighting force.

    Oil has been our Achilles heel – inadvertently it is Islam’s too. For us there are limits on how much control we can exert on that region and for how long. Is it 40% Saudi support for ISIS? Rather than contemplate a military strategy in the long term we need strategies to marginalize the use of oil as a fuel. [The use of oil is something we invented our way into and we can therefore invent our way out of. ]

    And for Muslims – the dream of world conquest via oil – either through military force – utilized in the first Islamic conquests – or through softer approach of enforced Islamization – via the funding of western mosques, university and after-school programs [where western children learn to cut off hands], in addition the funding of anti-racism [so-called civil liberty] and pro-sharia activists groups – is also an extremely flawed plan. But with the growth of Islamic finance – god knows what we will see in the future.

  16. tpellow says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 11:05 am

    “ISIS and the threat to Turkey”

    http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/turkeys_new_neighbor.php

  17. Wellington says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 11:41 am

    The current Turkish regime must be delighted that such a fool as Kerry is presently the American Secretary of State. The current Egyptian regime must be appalled that such a fool as Kerry is presently the American Secretary of State.

    • Uri says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 1:14 pm

      Only to those who hear with their eyes and think with their feelings.

  18. Bezelel says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 11:41 am

    ( the Egyptian President earlier told the visiting Secretary of State that any international coalition against terrorism should not just focus on Islamic State militants, but also Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and the Egyptian regime’s foe, the Muslim Brotherhood….)
    Sisi knows there’s a turd in the punch bowl, he’s trying to turn the lights on but no one is listening.

  19. Jay Boo says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 11:59 am

    turn the lights on but no one is listening.

    mixed metaphor
    I have to watch myself on this too to see how my writing — sounds.

    • Bezelel says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 12:28 pm

      my poetic license might get revoked for using it on these subjects.

      • Jay Boo says

        Sep 14, 2014 at 7:54 pm

        Bezelel ,
        If I had known that Obama supporter Uri would hijack it above the way his idol hijacked the presidency I would not have mentioned it.

        I wonder what Uri is short for,
        Let’s see Islam has five letters
        Obama has five letters
        What is a five letter word that begins with Uri _ _

        • Bezelel says

          Sep 14, 2014 at 9:20 pm

          I don’t even have to buy a vowel to fill that in so I’ll answer in the form of a question Jeopardy style. What camel product do mussies drink?

  20. Salah says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 12:37 pm

    Some of us still don’t get it. How sad!
    The original plan was for the Muslim Brotherhood (the real masters in the W.H.)
    to rule over Egypt and the whole region. When this plan failed, the MB created the ISIL monster to force the region’s governments to allow them to at least share power.
    The W.H. allowed the creation of ISIL (through Turkey and Qatar).
    The US has enough power to crush ISIL in minutes. It won’t happen because the MB is ruling the country through the Obama gang.

    • Uri says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 1:08 pm

      Complete nutter post.

      • Jay Boo says

        Sep 14, 2014 at 7:56 pm

        Obama is using the Constitution as his personal prayer mat.

    • Bezelel says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 1:22 pm

      Big ears barak hussein has been purging everyone but the MB. Michelle Bachman was scorned for even mentioning their presence.

    • Anon says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 7:34 pm

      True, Air-Bomb-Ya & co. historically looks the other way with regard to aggressive Islam, but he didn’t write the un-holy Quran, nor did the M.B. or ISIS/ISIL. In other words it’s a problem that has a ROOT cause and transcends time and space.

  21. Gail Griffin says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    What does it take to destroy the oil tanker’s. Also make it very miserable for anyone working in the oilfields. Drone their food supplies , their trucks and cars. Use poison on their vehicles. It’s not people just machines
    Make it a living hell for Isis and their workers

  22. EmHotep says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    Current Turkish government, especially PM Ahmet Davutoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan are fundamental supporters of IS due to sunni muslim caliphate issues and new ottoman dreams.. As a Turkish person I would like to state that with those two sharia lover people in power, IS will always be supported. Do not get fooled by taqiyya words of our government…

    They are the worst thing happened to our country..

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 9:57 pm

      Emhotep, are you Muslim yourself? Or are you one of the few Infidels, or perhaps an apostate?

      If you are Muslim, how do you believe Erdogan—or ISIS, for that matter—differs from orthodox Islam?

      • EmHotep says

        Sep 15, 2014 at 7:06 am

        Gravenimage, I am an agnostic person was born in a secular muslim family. In many years I realized that there is no orthodox islam by itself. The important thing is if your country has a very strict secular constitution like France or old Turkey it is possible to control islam and muslims within their own places. ( this is not possible in arab countries since they do not accept secularism but Turkey is not an arab country)

        What happened in Turkey in the last several decades, with the influence of Muslim brothers movement, new islamic political parties established by passing the secular constitution and started to gaining power. As a result they overweight the secular people quickly. (with help of arabic finance etc)

        So islam is not just a religion but its a way of ruling people and when they are powerful enough its like a cancer that kills the normal cells..

        Best Regards

        • Brian Hoff says

          Sep 15, 2014 at 3:04 pm

          In america Islam is than religion than they religish right are protect by the conutition of america.

        • Angemon says

          Sep 15, 2014 at 3:12 pm

          In soviet russia conutition religish you.

        • EmHotep says

          Sep 15, 2014 at 4:35 pm

          In this case you cannot classify islam as a normal religion, since they always believe sharia is superior to democracy and when the muslims are in power they always want to replace the democracy with sharia.

          I know US respects human rights but islam should be classified as dangerous religion like satanism etc. Time will tell what I am trying to explain.

  23. Jay Boo says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    Off Topic

    Is Obama a Muslim?
    Maybe not?

    He poses here with a glass of beer in hand.
    http://blog.foxsoccer.com/post/97490291927/president-obama-makes-good-on-usa-belgium-world-cup

    • Bezelel says

      Sep 14, 2014 at 7:48 pm

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tCAffMSWSzY
      obama admits he is a muslim/youtube

  24. Éamonn Gavin says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    And Turkey wants to join the European Union! And worse – the eejits will let them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

  25. gravenimage says

    Sep 14, 2014 at 7:51 pm

    Despite US pressure, Turkey fails to cut Islamic State oil revenue

    “Turkey, in many ways, is a wild card in this coalition equation,” said Juan Zarate, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
    …………………………………

    Turkey is not a “wildcard”—they are an active *enabler* of the Islamic State. They’ve been arming ISIS for some time now.

    The only way Turkey is likely to oppose ISIS will be if the Islamic State directly attacks them—as they have threatened—but then we should not expect anything more than the sort of half-hearted, sporadic “anti-terrorism” efforts we see periodically from places like Pakistan.

    Turkey is not going to oppose devout Mohammedans in any substantive way.

    More:

    Despite extensive discussions inside the Pentagon, US forces have, so far, not attacked the tanker trucks.
    …………………………………

    *Why the hell not*? Some of our plans re the Islamic State seem pretty iffy, but bombing their oil trucking lines is—or should be—a no-brainer.

    Remember ten years ago or so when we were told that the Iraq war would pay for itself, because of all those oil revenues? Well, *that* never happened.

    But now those same oil revenues are funding the “Caliphate” and violent Jihad. We should not just be bombing the lines, but the oil fields themselves.

  26. harbidoll says

    Sep 15, 2014 at 5:47 am

    Wonder who else is buying cheap Isis gas “on the down low” lol.

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