Summary: The U.S. has switched to a new strategy for
fighting ISIS: blow up the money. Several times in recent months, U.S. military
jets have targeted ISIS financial centers, and financial leaders, turning
everything to ash. These strikes are part of a larger cyber war, in which the
U.S. tracked the money online and manipulated or stole the financial assets.
ISIS, unlike Al Quaeda, seeks to control a land mass, and the ability to do that
requires money to pay fighters and bureaucrats. Depriving the Islamic State of these funds has
become a primary goal of the Obama Administration. The most significant strike thus far has been the
“cash and distribution center” in Mosul, Iraq. Two missiles hit the building,
sending burning U.S. hundred dollar bills into the air, depriving ISIS of an
estimated 50 million dollars. General Lloyd J. Austin III described the “money
bomb” saying, “You can bet that (ISIS) is feeling the strain on its checkbook.”
Synopsis: This is a great strategy to deprive ISIS of
funds, but in the end wars are won by people, not dollars. The military should
fight ISIS, not their money. That’s not to say that this strategy doesn’t
weaken their attempts abroad, but it’s a long term strategy. The last thing
America needs at this point in time is another long war against another
terrorist group. There are bigger fish to fry, Bashar Al Assad and Kim Jong Un,
to name a few. North Korea and Syria require undivided attention abroad, so ISIS,
being the smallest of the three threats, needs to be dealt with quickly and
effectively.
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