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Bleed the Islamic State

Two wars simultaneously target Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria. One war involves fighters, warplanes and bombs. The other is the Green War. Green, as in money.

Both wars are on full display this week. In Syria, American and Arab warplanes pounded oil refineries controlled by Islamic State terrorists. In Washington, the U.S. slapped economic sanctions on 11 people and one non-governmental organization that were sending financial and other support to terrorist groups, including the Islamic State.

The Green War strategy hinges on a single time-proven principle: An army marches on its stomach. Bleed the Islamic State of its funding, and you cripple its ability to recruit, train, supply and dispatch jihadists across Iraq and Syria. No jihad survives if the money dries up and offensive operations stop.

One reason the Islamic State has grown so fast and been so successful in luring jihadists from around the globe? It pays well--an estimated $600 a month to fighters, Middle East expert James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation tells us. "A lot of fighters have defected for monetary reasons, not ideological reasons . . . and because (the Islamic State) has better equipment and arms" than other groups have.

How? Islamic State's seizure of vast chunks of Iraq and Syria has yielded a huge windfall: The group earns up to $2 million a day in oil revenues from a dozen or so major oil fields and refineries that it controls in Iraq and Syria. That's a pittance to a global oil company, but it's big money for a terror group.

And bombing oil fields needn't be the Green War's only theater of battle:

President Barack Obama has proudly reeled off the list of Arab nations joining this U.S.-led coalition. That's important for political purposes, to show that this is not a U.S. war against Islam. But our Arab allies can do far more to defeat the Islamic State than send war planes over Syria. They can help choke off the flow of cash to the jihadists. They can put the squeeze on the Islamic State's private donors in their respective countries. They can make it clear to businessmen that dealing with Islamic State petroleum brokers on the black market will bring them a world of financial pain.

One key to winning the Green War: getting America's NATO ally, Turkey, to abide by these principles. That's because much of the terror group's oil finds its way to the black market via Turkey. Job One, then, for American diplomats: Enlist Turkey's support in dismantling the funding and drying up oil revenues for Islamic State terrorists.

Many European countries, also slow to join the coalition, ought to play vital roles. Some of those countries reportedly have paid ransoms to jihadists for the return of their citizens. The world has to stop funding terrorism by ransom demand, as gut-wrenching as it is to refuse when an innocent person's life is at stake.

The European Union also can help choke off the terror financiers who bankroll the blood-drenched Islamic State agenda. Given what the Islamic State is, thwarting that agenda calls for special tactics. In some cases, economic sanctions are among the most formidable and fearsome weapons in the Western arsenal. Ask Iran and Russia. But the Islamic State isn't an established state with strong connections to the international banking system. It appears to be largely circumventing that system to raise funds via the illicit oil sales, kidnappings and other acts of extortion.

So the West is waging two wars. The U.S. and its allies will inflict huge damage with bombs. But prevailing against the Islamic State will also require Guccis on the ground--bankers and other financial brokers to make sure the cash flow for Islamic State terrorists runs dry.

Editorial on 09/30/2014

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