The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (Isis) has become the richest terror group ever after looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars - the equivalent of $429m (£256m) - from Mosul's central bank, according to the regional governor.Nobody thought of getting the money out of town before the Jihadis took over? Nobody? Or was the fall of Mosul so quick that no one – not even the bankers – had a chance to safeguard the loot? Or was the bank one of the main targets all the time?
Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi confirmed Kurdish televison reports that Isis militants had stolen millions from numerous banks across Mosul. A large quantity of gold bullion is also believed to have been stolen.
Following the siege of the country's second city, the bounty collected by the group has left it richer than al-Qaeda itself and as wealthy as small nations such as Tonga, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Falkland Islands.
On a more savage note, Isis isn’t wasting any time putting people to the sword.
I bet Obama is so worried about the unfolding disaster in Iraq that he only plays 9 holes of golf this weekend, and only does two policy pivots all next week.
My years in India led me to study with Robert W Stern and his 'Bourgeois Revolution' idea. He also wrote a book about the difference between Indian and Pakistan, but the conclusion was weak. All these ideas were influencing GWB back in 2001, to his credit I thought, but yes we were all 'neocons' back then.
ReplyDeleteIraq is like India in many ways. Iraq now is like India was 150 years ago - pretty terrible as in the 1857 'Mutiny'. Then again you could say history never repeats and we don't know where all this is heading.
Is the difference leadership? If someone like the USA knows a better way and wants to lead the world to it, half the world showed after WWII they will follow and benefit. Or is it that other half of the world who oppose US leadership who are the problem? We all thought the Russians and the other half of the world would join us, but they fell back to their old ways.
So yes, things in Iraq are terrible, as they once were in India.
Any chance we could convince Obo & his bunch that the jihadis are a branch of the Tea Party? May be the only way to get'em fired up, to do something.
ReplyDeleteNot to worry Paco, I read somewhere today that America is sending blankets and babyfood to those freedom loving people who have been run into the hills under threat of death. The 101st
ReplyDelete"Frowny Hashtag" Division is being reassembled from it's bloody battle in Nigeria and will be deployed as soon as it's general recovers from her chocolate donut.
When surrounded, the Battered Bastards of Baghdad will reply, "Nuts!" and free range organic nuts will buy peace in our time.
ReplyDeleteI'm so funny.
Jonah: I had completely forgotten about our secret hashtag weapon.
ReplyDeleteThey had better use it, before it gets outlawed.
ReplyDeleteWMD, ya know.
Come on now. The Prez is madder than anybody that the Iraqis have "disappointed" him with their centuries old hatreds and warring, especially since he had to find out about it in the newspapers. And it's all George Bush's fault anyway.
ReplyDeleteWMD?
ReplyDeleteWeapons of mass delusion.
Obama's actions in Foreign Policy are embarrassing. He and his consiglieri are totally clueless.
That said, how many jihadists ran 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and police out of Mosul so that they made the French of 1940 look like those of 1792? I doubt they had even half the numbers the Iraqis had, and certainly not better weapons.
Here's how it looks to me. Only American combat troops, at least three divisions, will reverse this situation. They will not be forthcoming. So Iraq is doomed as a unified state. The Shi'a will plead for help from Iran and the Mullahs will take over under much the same relationships they have with Hezbollah and Assad. The Sunnis will try to form their Islamic State of Syria and al-Shams and a lot of them will find out just how horrible that can be. The Kurds will attempt a de facto independent state, probably comprising Iraqi Kurdistan and the Kurdish part of Syria. This will make Iran and Turkey paranoid, though Turkey may just have to choke it down as Iran moves west. The Kurds are the ones we should be directing our help to, both military supply and diplomatic support. The Saudis will be in a panic. They fear the Shi'a Crescent they see forming, so a Sunni state smack in the middle would be welcome. But they are almost as afraid of the jihadists, because the jihadists have long had the al-Saud rulers in their sights.
If I thought they had the brains to do it, I might theorize that the Obumblers are setting up a situation where the Shi'a and the Sunni spend the next ten years killing each other. They are certainly amoral enough to do it, but they are invincibly ignorant and they haven't got the brains for strategy that the the Good Lord gave to a Butterclam.
It's enough to make you wish there really was an International Neocon Conspiracy to Take Over the World to take charge and do things right. Where is Wronwright when you need him and the TARDIS?
Future historians will be amazed at how the USA was the most powerful nation on Earth and threw it all away. At the rate Western Civilization is going, they will attribute it to Allah making us insane.
Deborah.... This alleged AQ splinter group is certainly strategy rich as well as financial that is demonstrated by the swift victories. The victories were short lived by the retaking of some cities by the Iraqis.
ReplyDeleteThe ruthlessness of this group is crueler than AQ. They're up there with the Mexican cartels.
The Iranians have been at play in Iraq for years. But now they have a visible presence with boots on the ground thanks to the leadership of the west. The Mullahs should send a gift basket to O. Nah. They'll just let him touch the bottom of their robes when he bows.