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$2 Billion and counting. Yes, that’s right ISIS has an estimated $2 Billion in funds. I don’t know about you, but the fact that they are that well funded, and on their way to raking in more money scares the ever-living crap out of me.
You know why? It is very simple. With that amount of money, ISIS can do even more damage than they have already done. With that amount of funding, they can do anything to anyone who they deem is in their way. I’m not talking just about the pain, terror and death inflicted on the Yazidis, the Christians, and other religious minorities in Iraq either. This funding can be used for the next phase(s) of their operation. And we would be very naïve to think that they aren’t already implementing their next stage(s) in their war against anyone they decide is an infidel.
Quite frankly, ISIS next acts will likely include the horrors in the above photo along with any other means of terror they decide they want to inflict on those who stand in their way. Its doable for them. Remember, they have a $2 Billion war chest to play with.
So where is ISIS getting all this money? From quite a few places as a matter of fact. Mosul is one. They looted the bank of Mosul when they rolled into that city in June. Their haul from the bank was approximately $425 million. They’ve also managed to get their hands on unknown sums of money and large quantities of gold bullion from multiple banks in and around Mosul during that same time period.
Where else is ISIS getting their funding? How about the donations from private individuals and from countries like Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon and Syria? How about the US weapons and vehicles they now control? ISIS $425 million heist from Mosul plus all the other cash and bullion has certainly made them flush. In fact they are now touted as “The Worlds Richest Terrorist Force.” A terrorist force that has an insatiable thirst for killing and for money, both of which can lead to global catastrophe. This Fox News report outlines how thirsty ISIS is:
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 million per day by selling up to 40,000 barrels via middlemen in illicit deals. The black market oil sells for roughly $25 to $60 per barrel, compared to the current market rate of $102, 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.
Yes, that makes ISIS wealthier than the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah or the FARC. All of those terrorist organizations have been operating for years, decades even. And yet none of them now command the amount of power/$$ that ISIS has raked in over just a few short months. As the Washington Post reported on June 12,
The Taliban, the New York Times reported, had a one-time annual operating budget of somewhere between $70 million and $400 million. Hezbollah was working with between $200 million and $500 million. FARC in Colombia had annual revenues of $80 million to $350 million. Al-Shabab in Somalia had between $70 million and $100 million socked away. And Al-Qaeda, meanwhile, was working with a $30 million operating budget at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Which leads to the ultimate question. We’ve already know what ISIS does to any and all religious minorities with a smaller war chest. We’ve know that ISIS will demand ransoms for Americans and other westerners held hostage. We also know that religious minorities and hostages like James Foley will be barbarically executed on a whim because ISIS is just that brutal and depraved To them it doesn’t matter. They have vowed to kill all those who stand in their way.
With the money that ISIS has now, and with their threats against America –the reality is this, the ISIS terrorist group must be taken very seriously. They have funds galore to implement and execute any and all plans of attack against all those who they’ve deemed as an enemy. The United States is very much at the top of their list.
Are we taking them seriously? We here at Victory Girls have been for quite some time. Read here, here, and here to catch up. Others have noted ISIS scary sophistication in using social media to achieve their goals. Some in the intelligence community sounded the alarm months before our golfing President classified them as the Lakers JV of terrorist groups. Others, such as Elizabeth Dickinson at Brookings clearly outlined ISIS fundraising prowess. And now, with James Foley’s barbaric murder by these savages, others as Kim pointed out this morning, are finally waking up to what some, including former VP Cheney already knew. ISIS is more dangerous than we can even begin to fathom.
Senator Jim Inhofe, (R-OK), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services committee understands the dangers we face:
“We’re in the most dangerous position we’ve ever been in as a nation,” Senator Inhofe told Fox 25’s Phil Cross.
“ISIS, they are really bad terrorists, they’re so bad even Al Qaida is afraid of them,” Inhofe said reflecting on the recent beheading of American journalist James Foley. Beyond the beheading, Inhofe said the current terror organizations are not going to stay contained to the Middle East. “They’re crazy out there and they’re rapidly developing a method of blowing up a major U.S. city and people just can’t believe that’s happening.”
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is now reaching an understanding that the threats are real:
“They are an imminent threat to every interest we have, whether it’s in Iraq or anywhere else,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon.
How do we stop them? Take their $$ away from them via whatever means necessary. Because if we don’t, the ISIS $2 Billion war chest will grow and ISIS will use those funds to accomplish any and all terror goals they set for themselves anywhere in the world. How do we stop them? Quickly, decisively, and harshly. That does not include placating them by attempting to tell the world that the ISIS isn’t about the US. And I don’t mean that we should handle James Foley’s heinous murder by attempting to run a namby-pamby toothless criminal investigation either.
What I absolutely mean is that we find them. We find them before they can inflict anymore pain, terror and destruction in Iraq. Find them before they can rake in more money. We find them before they get to the UK, and most certainly before they get to us. And then kill them all.
While waiting in an airport for a flight I watched a CNN anchor interviewing a Democrat Congressman on the murder of James Foley. The Congressman spent most of his time talking about “measured response” and “careful evaluation of the situation”, and made other statement that clearly indicated that he did not take ISIS seriously. He was more interested in poking President Bush in the eye (rhetorically speaking) than in doing his job.
The Congressman’s reaction should not surprise us. When it comes to confronting Islamofascism the Democrats – with their decade-long “AmeriKKKa is the evil empire” screeching – have rather neatly and thoroughly boxed themselves in. I don’t know how the Obama administration expects ISIS to react to the announcement that there will be a criminal investigation (maybe we will get lucky and the terrorists will die from laughing too much), but in the end I think they don’t really care very much. They are betting – probably correctly, I am afraid – that the nation will quickly go back to focusing on celebrity gay marriages, or the latest antics of the Kardashians, or whatever other goofball issue the media barfs up for public consumption.
Still, even Obama’s strongest supporters must occasionally wonder what their support has wrought. Imagine the nation’s reaction if President Roosevelt had gone on the radio after Pearl Harbor to announce that the Attorney General was planning to investigate the actions of the Japanese government to see if any US laws were broken and issue arrest warrents. The Progressive Millennium of Peace and Equality, which was proclaimed with the election of Obama, is nowhere in sight and the defenders of the One True Faith of Progressivism are getting antsy.
Jodi says: Very well said, RL. Unfortunately, I will wager my left arm that they will vote for more of the same in 2016. Surely it will work eventually, right?
Nina says: RL – you make some excellent points! The fact that our country is now conducting a criminal investigation into ISIS killing James Foley is so ludicrous on its face. Yes, ISIS is definitely laughing at us. And continuing to plan their next steps, take their next steps, and raking in the money.
The announcement of the criminal investigation and Obama running back to the golf course has given ISIS even greater confidence in pushing forward to their ultimate goal – eliminating America.
We can only continue to speak, hope, and pray that others will keep waking up to the dangers we face because golf has been way more important than leadership these last few years
Les Hardie says: I do a speech seminar for middle schoolers at a nearby Catholic school. One of my favorite lessons is showing the kids FDR’s great “Day of Infamy” speech on 12/8/1941. Notwithstanding FDR’s making a hash of the economy and prolonging the depression, at least he knew we had to destroy the enemy. I am tempted to do a parody of how Obama would speak to the congress had he been president on 12/8/1941: “The government of Japan appears to have conducted a kinetic military exercise yesterday in Hawaii and caused damage. This is unacceptable. Let me be clear:we will have a thorough and unbiased investigation of all the facts. We will not jump to conclusions. If we find that the Japanese government acted outside the norms of international law, we will vigorously pursue all responses, including appropriate economic sanctions. Already I have instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to ban imports of Top Ramen noodles, and this is only the first of what may be swift and significant sanctions. However, our response will be measured; disproportionate action is no longer acceptable in the 20th century. We do not want war with Japan, and will explore every avenue to maintaining a working relationship with Tokyo. If the facts prove that the attack on Pearl Harbor was done by the Japanese, I have instructed the Attorney General to prepare a criminal case against the perpetrators. Until then, native-born Americans should not give vent to their deep-seated anti-Japanese racism and bias, which has so often soiled and darkened our history. So let’s wait for the results of the investigation, and stay calm. I’m heading for the golf course, and will report back when the time comes. Thank you very much. So long, folks! “
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