ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50%

Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by nyolfen on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @12:16PM (#10939586)

the US only started bombing the oil trucks once their hand was forced by the russians doing so while pointing out that the US had been avoiding these obvious targets. we can speculate on reasons that they held back before then, but i suspect it had to do with the oil being sold to the turks.

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Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by ju-st on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @12:41PM (#10939840)

The US gave another explanation why they didn't attack oil infrastructure:

> A former CIA director said the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has been reluctant to attack oil wells controlled by the extremist group partly because of environmental concerns. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/25/michael-more...

Suddenly the US becomes the protector of mother earth?

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Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by 1024core on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @01:17PM (#10940112)

Close, but I don't think so. The ISIS is supported by the Saudis; as long as they could sell oil, it saved the Saudis money. The Saudis have long opposed air strikes on ISIS. Saudis are using ISIS as proxies in their fight against the new Iraqi government and Syria.

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Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by notahacker on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @01:54PM (#10940392)

I'm really not sure where the oil-exporting Saudis benefit financially from ISIS undercutting them on the black market. Or indeed where you've got the idea they're opposed to air strikes they've even participated in.

Any tactical enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend inclinations towards supporting ISIS that Saudi might have are are also rather tempered by the fact that wresting control of Mecca from the American-allied kleptocrats of the House of Saud is rather close to the top of the Islamic State's to-do list. Which actually makes them more of a threat than Assad or Iranian-backed Shia militias

The suggestion that Turkey is a sufficiently influential ally for the US to not just disregard but actively encourage cross border black market oil trade with ISIS is almost as silly.

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Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by 1024core on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @03:20PM (#10941023)

Before ISIS took off, they were Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Here's an old news story I quickly dug up about the Saudis asking US not to hit them: http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/234500/saudi-arabia-agains...

ISIS are Sunnis. Saudis are Sunnis. Iran, Syria are Shia (as are Hezbollah). That's one factor. The other is: some regimes have it in for Assad; they want to get rid of him. They'll support anybody taking on Assad. That's another factor.

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Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by notahacker on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @03:59PM (#10941294)

Bearing in mind the Saudis launched airstrikes against ISIS in Syria themselves a couple of months later, it's not really plausible they want[ed] to protect ISIS as opposed to avoid the US stepping in to stabilise the Iraqi government (or bombing Sunni cities)

ISIS being Sunnis actually makes them more dangerous to the House of Saud, since they represent a challenge to their legitimacy as rulers rather than their population's natural enemy. Similarly, the US damaging the ISIS economy and prestige actually strengthens Saudi Arabia's position as the benefactor-of-choice for aspirant Sunni militants.

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Re:ISIS cuts its fighters' salaries by 50% by 1024core on Wednesday January 20, 2016 @04:33PM (#10941536)

I have a friend from the region (Aleppo, to be precise). He claims that Saudi airstrikes actually hit the groups fighting ISIS, and not ISIS. As I haven't followed the news as closely as he does, I'm inclined to take his read on it.

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