Posted on 02/16/2015 9:09:56 AM PST by SJackson
As the Islamic State seeks to export its brand of barbaric terror to would-be affiliates, the U.S. faces a growing challenge to find the sources of ISIS funding and blunt its flow to allied militants.
The terror army's most recent atrocity was the mass beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya. It remains unclear how closely tied those militants are to ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but the Islamic State's underground economy continues to thrive. Even as the U.S.-led coalition strikes at what was long the heart of ISIS' revenue stream -- oil fields and refineries -- officials say the terror network is making money in other ways.
"We know that oil revenue is no longer the lead source of their income in dollars," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said recently.
But he added: "They get a lot of donations. They also have a significant black market program." How much money ISIS truly makes from donations is a matter of debate. But experts agree that ISIS receives significant revenue from black-market smuggling and other operations.
"ISIS is selling anything they can get their hands on," Dr. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in an interview with Fox News. Plus, according to reports, the group is even skimming Iraqi taxpayer dollars by shaking down government employees in areas they've conquered.
In short, ISIS is set on building a terror empire, going so far as to tout its annual financials.
Reportedly, ISIS released a $2 billion budget for 2015 including a $250 million surplus, though those numbers are disputed.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Has anyone in the EXEMPT treasonous Congress
followed up on McCain, Obama and Clinton?
No? What about the State Dept’s funding
of terror from Gaza to Iran?
No? What a suprise. NOT!
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Bomb the blasted bank account or something. There must be a way to tie down there finances. Cash?
I knew the oil revenue wasn’t that high, moving refineries and selling at a 75% discount.
EMP + STRICT BORDER CONTROL.
They have a “budget”?
What are the line items? Orange suits; black pajamas; knives; steel bar cages; AK47s; gasoline? Sicker by the day.
Wow, not too shabby for a JV Team.
Imagine where they would be if they were Varsity Terrorists.
If the electricity was turned off where they nest, they’d be out of business. Generators can be seen at night and heard.
Gee, any chance that this was the plan all along? Get rid of Saddam and hand Iraq over to jihadis? Nah.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
IS is not ‘about’ terror.
For them terrorist tactics are just one tool in the arsenal.
IS is about one thing: establishment and maintenance of an Islamic caliphate.
Say it out loud if you need to, just to make sure it sinks in.
First the holy land, then the greater middle east. Then on to Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Do not make the same mistake the administration has made in underestimating or mis-assigning their goals.
They see themselves as the army of Allah. For them religion and government and war are all inextricably woven into a single thread.
They will use terror, but for them it is one of many means, and far from their end.
Unless and until the western world wraps their heads around this simple truth we cannot hope to win this fight.
We need to find those donors and kill them quietly and mercilessly. Their assets need to be destroyed or stolen and diverted to anti-ISIS groups or to our own covert use.
Food, ammo and related supplies.
Ain’t cheap to keep an army functioning.
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