In taking economic war to Islamic State, U.S. developing new tools

The tools in Daesh should be worried then. Even if they are insane. Cowardly. Runts.

Il read the US warplanes dropped leaflets and fired warning shots at the convoys of truck before vapourizing them.

C'mon guys, no point in being nice at this stage....

Since last month, U.S. warplanes have struck Islamic State’s oil infrastructure in Syria in a stepped-up campaign of >economic warfare

So, the US has been bombing for a year but it took the Russians getting involved and stealing the limelight to get any serious efforts from America.

“We have done a really good job of largely keeping the Islamic State out of the formal financial system,”

The US was able to cut Iran off from the SWIFT banking system in a heartbeat. What was the holdup/difficulty here? Mixed priorities IMO...

So, the US has been bombing for a year but it took the Russians getting involved and stealing the limelight to get any serious efforts from America.

This is exactly what happens you have to follow the Rules of Engagment and then some.

The US was able to cut Iran off from the SWIFT banking system in a heartbeat. What was the holdup/difficulty here? Mixed priorities IMO.

You have a stubborn president that is about to leave office and worries more about his legacy than to worry about ISIS and the war on terror. It's not going to happen and Obama could care less.

@bass4funk

This is exactly what happens you have to follow the Rules of Engagment and then some.

That statement has no meaning. RoE are always in effect....but RoE are flexible. The question remains: if RoE was the restriction beforehand, why wait so long to change it? If the previous "strict" RoE was so important, why allow Russian actions to alter it? If RoE isn't the sticking point, then who is building the Joint Targeting List (JTL) and No-Strike List (NSL)? Who is putting together an Air Tasking Order that doesn't include oil tanker convoys (which are obviously going to NATO-member Turkey....discretely) but DOES include Syria's power plants? So civilian infrastructure has been on the table before now, but a primary source of ISIS funding was conveniently omitted?

You have a stubborn president that is about to leave office and worries more about his legacy than to worry about ISIS >and the war on terror. It's not going to happen and Obama could care less.

Iran being disconnected from the SWIFT network....happened on Obama's watch (2012). It was the final year of his first term. If he was worried about his legacy as you say, then dicking around while this Mess-o-tamian (hat tip to Jon Stewart) conflict threatens to drag in all of Eurasia and North Africa sure as hell isn't the best way to be remembered positively by historians.

"the group’s black-market earnings from oil"

Who is buying this oil?

"the group’s black-market earnings from oil" Who is buying this oil?

That is where FinCEN comes into play. IS don't openly sale the oil like the nearest 24 hr Gas Station. The money-oil go through shady transactions where the profits are layered into other "legit" transactions. Just like money laundering, the origin of the oil's profits are are concealed.

Who ends up with that oil? Does it ultimately come back "clean" on the world's oil exchange market? Good question.

But without these shady financial institutions, how will the US give ISIS and the other Islamist opposition financial support now?

That's the problem. They need to quit shaking hands with White Daesh (Saudi, Riyadh, Mecca, Medina) . . . who are supporting the Black Daesh (ISIS).

The Saudis rely on an alliance with radical clergymen & imams that produces, spreads, preaches and legitimizes Radical Islam. ISIS feeds on it, then sells it to the rest of moderate islam.

Why US didn't bomb ISIS' control oil fields and its oil tankers before? Obviously, Obama do not have idea and strategy for defeating ISIS and Al Qaida militants in Iraq and Syria. Talker is not performer. Obama is just talker and entertainer like K. West.

If Bush was wrong for to invade Iraq and then Obama was wrong for to not sending US Army back into Iraq and Syrian to fight ISIS and withdrawing all military present in Iraq.

The oil is being bought by amongst others, Turkey!

Don't think for a minute that the US is not able to track convoys of tankers going one way out of Syria into Turkey. Still, the US (the UK,France,Germany etc) have turned a blind eye to this financial support and it has been allowed to go on but fortunately Russia has not! Just why the US needs a base in Turkey when its forces have been so ineffectual is beyond my scope However, somehow it is ok to give Isil money for oil as Turkey gives the US military parking rights there. I would like to ask Pres Obama why a NATO ally is being given carte blanche to not only support terrorists but to profit from them also?