http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/27/isis-oil_n_5877008.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green
September
27, 2014
It is now well known that ISIS (the Islamic State) is one of the richest
terrorist groups in the world. People wonder how it is possible for them to
have that amount of money and where that money comes from. Recent estimates say
that their revenue (about $3 million a day)
comes from illegal oil trade. Luay al-Khatteeb, director of
the Iraq Energy Institute, explains some of the details concerning this issue.
Most people wonder how did ISIS get so far as to make such an amount of money
on a daily basis. Al-Khatteeb explains that oil assets in certain
territories change owners many times. When a terrorist group takes over, it
uses the experience it gained in previously owned assets and builds on
that. It is important to say that ISIS
greatly rely on the help of professional organizations that are willing to
co-operate with them and that have the technical knowledge to operate oil
fields. It is easy for them to establish and that is why the price of oil is
much lower than in other countries. There are around 8 million people living in
the territories controlled by ISIS, and they need oil as the main energy
resource so the people are the main buyers. However, it is the refined oil
products that everyone needs, and for that ISIS relies on black market trade,
mostly through Turkey. The Turkish government is trying to stop this but it is
very difficult because these areas have a long history of illegal trade.
I
have chosen this article because I have
never been completely sure about what the cause of conflict in Middle East is
and what really goes on there. Although now I understand a certain part of how
terrorist organizations work, I can’t help but wonder what the ultimate goal of
their actions is. To say that they want “to rule the world” sounds too
simple and since I hear the word oil mentioned so many times, it seems to
me that those who say that it is the main reason for all that is happening
might be right. The viewpoint of the
ISIS is technocentric, they are greedy and they don't think about the environment at all. They are not thinking about the future and that if they use all the resources now there will be no left. I researched how this oil was used by the ISIS and it has a negative impact on the environment, their use of the oil is not beneficial either.
Reading your response of the article, I was wondering what its connection to science and the environment is, but in the end I realized what your point was- I like how you connected the article to technocentric views- which is what we are currently studying about. Perhaps you could write a bit more about the negative impact on the environment of these illegal oil assets.
ReplyDeleteDijana,
ReplyDeleteThis article was not directly linked to the environment, but we can see after reading your review that it is very much a societal issue with environmental implications. The impact on the environment is that the oil is being pumped and sold and used at higher amounts (rather than in a controlled rate and situation) which could cause us to reach peak oil much quicker. As Jovana mentioned, it would have been great if you incorporated more about the specific effects on the environment as well. It is definitely a connection between human populations and resource use (Topic 3).