ISIS has captured large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, including all of oil-rich Deir Ezzor. (File photo: Reuters)
Noah Feldman, Bloomberg: Oil Is Islamic State's Lifeblood
The battle for Baiji, site of one of Iraq’s major oil refineries, is heating up again. Since May, Islamic State fighters have been chipping away at the Iraqi government’s control. Now it seems possible that the empty city and the shuttered refinery could fall.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi visited the battlefield this week and emphasized the site’s strategic importance to retaking Mosul. What he didn’t say was that Islamic State’s offensive on Baiji is part of its grand strategy to develop domestic sources of revenue that would help make it a functioning state, instead of a would-be state attempting to achieve legitimacy by beheadings and religious fervor.
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 27, 2015
Have US laws created an online haven for Islamic State propaganda? -- Taylor Luck, CSM
Is U.S. Analysis of Progress Against ISIS Skewed? -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic
Erdogan’s war backfires -- Kadri Gursel, Al-Monitor
Iran's Moderates Used Nuclear Deal to Save the Revolution -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg
Enforcing the Iran Deal: Another Gaping Hole -- Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby, Weekly Standard
Ex-Intelligence Chief: 'Pakistan Is at War Against the Afghan People' -- Interview Conducted By Susanne Koelbl, Spiegel Online
Russia's Brave New Crisis -- Maxim Trudolyubov, Moscow Times
Why Russia’s latest attempt at a land grab is a farce -- Paul Stronski, Reuters
Discovery of up to 50 bodies in truck highlights European migrant crisis -- Anthony Faiola, Washington Post
Guatemala’s Embattled President -- New York Times editorial
Obama's Failure to Learn in the Middle East -- Aaron David Miller, The Compass
The best defense of Obama’s foreign policy you will read this year -- Daniel W. Drezner, Washington Post
How Hugo Chavez Trashed Latin America's Richest Economy -- Justin Fox, Bloomberg
Should One U.S. Service Rule the Military’s Drones? -- Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One
Spy Agencies Are Like Old-School Porn — But That's Changing -- Jennifer Peters, Vice
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