ISIS Oil Trade and Trump’s Presidential Campaign Pledges

In an interview given to CCTV America, Dr Carole Nakhle, Director, Crystol Energy, talks about the latest developments in ISIS oil trade, the importance of oil to ISIS, the effectiveness of military operations and U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump statement’s that a central part of his policy against ISIL would be to “”take back the oil fields”. Dr Nakhle argues that ISIS oil operations have been suffering because of the bombing yet not halted and unlikely to be unless the areas where the oil fields are located are completely liberated from ISIS. She also emphasizes the point that the oil is not ISIS’s nor Mr Trump’s; it belongs to the Syrian and Iraqi people. Dr Nakhle concludes that the solution resides in tackling the root causes of the ISIS phenomenon since as long as the group’s ideology continues to appeal, it can survive with or without oil.