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How does the Islamic State, a ragtag band of jihadis who are supposedly at war with the combined military might of the US, Turkey, the Saudis, the Russians, the Iraqis, the Iranians and many others (including, of course, the Syrians) manage to fund and coordinate spectacular international terror attacks, including not only the Paris attack, but also (apparently) bombings in Turkey and Lebanon, and the take down of Russian airliners? How is it that governments can flag and track the "suspicious" financial transactions of anyone withdrawing or transferring over $10,000 from their own bank account, but can't seem to find a way to restrict cash flows, arms and munitions to a geographically isolated enemy who are dependent on oil sales for their financial survival?
Good question. Just don't ask the US State Department spokesman those questions, because he doesn't have the answers. When asked earlier this week by RT's Gayane Chichakyan "whether the US has sanctioned any banks suspected of carrying out transactions for ISIL," department spokesman Mark Toner responded with a resounding: "I'd have to look into that. I don't have the answer in front of me."
Apparently the question of how ISIS is financing its operations is of so little interest to the State Department that they haven't bothered to look into it. So in the interest of helping them out with their homework, let's connect a few dots, shall we?
[More after the break.]
Earlier this year it was revealed that French President François Hollande had authorized illegal shipments of arms to the Syrian terrorists in 2012. The deliveries–including cannons, machine guns, rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles–were in direct contravention of an EU embargo that was in place at the time.
In late 2012 it was revealed that one of the most prominent backers of the Syrian terrorists was the French government, who in addition to their illegal arms shipments were also delivering money directly to the terrorist opposition leaders.
Last year the French arms export industry enjoyed its best sales in 15 years, with revenues up 18%. The reason for the Merchant of Death bonanza? A spike in sales to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two of the main funders and supporters of ISIS.
(Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Monday November 23 2015, @06:27PM
And how many non-assholes (i.e. innocent civilians just trying to get on with their lives) are you willing to kill to try to make your little fantasy here true? When Daesh captures a town, are you suggesting the Vietnam-era "We destroyed the town (and all the people in it) in order to save it" attitude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%E1%BA%BFn_Tre [wikipedia.org]?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday November 23 2015, @06:32PM
I was gonna earn myself an easy Godwin point, but I'll got with "Brown lives don't matter" instead.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday November 24 2015, @12:18AM
C'mon, we're already showing a total disregard for the lives of those people anyway. If we actually tried to care, we'd put our own boots on the ground and try to separate out the 'good' Syrians from the 'bad' Syrians. But we haven't, because American/European lives are worth more than any number of those people.
Originally, I would have said, hey, let's bomb the crap out of Assad and Damascus. Let's help the anti-Assad forces triumph. They could wind up as bad as Assad, but at least we could say we tried. Now, with the sort-of good anti-Assad and ISIS factions in the mix, I'd say, fuck them all.
It's not really optimal that Iran annexes parts of Syria they feel they can, or that Turkey annexes other parts, or Iraq does others, or what-have-you. But, what do we, the West and the rest of the world, care? Is it not most important that we annihilate every 3rd-world dickhead that feels he can sow chaos in our cities and societies? Should not the overwhelming message we send not be, "I don't give a fuck what your 2000-year old feud is, but bring your shit to our lands and we will turn your shithole desert into an shiny expanse of glass?"
As far as I'm concerned at this point, everything from Damascus to the Iranian border should be shiny, smooth, and glassy.
Fully, fully done with the Middle East.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Tuesday November 24 2015, @05:35AM
Well, not to put too fine a point on it, you are a racist asshole with little in the way of redeeming human values. You've decided that 100 million men, women, and children should die, confusing them with the murderous bastards running countries, or the murderous bastards attempting to overthrow the first bastards.
You are no different than them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 24 2015, @05:32PM
In all fairness, they know- and admit- what they are, so there's a difference in the degree of honesty and self-insight, at least. ;-)