Fisk doesn't appear to be alone in his analysis that the current methods being used to stop ISIS aren't working........
The Islamic State rakes in up to $50 million a month from selling crude from oilfields under its control in Iraq and Syria, part of a well-run industry that U.S. diplomacy and airstrikes have so far failed to shut down, according to Iraqi intelligence and U.S. officials.
With the funds to rebuild infrastructure and provide the largesse that shore up its fighters' loyalty, it has been able to withstand ground fighting against its opponents and more than a year of bombardment in the U.S.-led air campaign.
The group has even been able to bring in equipment and technical experts from abroad to keep the industry running, and the United States has recently stepped up efforts to close off this support.
Washington has been talking to regional governments, including Turkey, about its concerns over the importing of energy infrastructure into IS-run territory in Syria, including equipment for extraction, refinement, transport and energy production, according to a senior U.S. official with firsthand knowledge of the IS oil sector.
Daniel Glaser, a U.S. Treasury official, estimated IS oil revenues at around $500 million a year, based on evidence they made around $40 million in one month in early 2015. The group is also believed to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars a year from "taxes" on commercial activities in the areas it rules, said Glaser, who is assistant Treasury secretary for Terrorist Financing in the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
ISIS making $50 million a month from oil sales - Business Insider
