The View from a Drawbridge

Every paramilitary organization on the face of the earth is only as powerful as its bottom line. Without money, there are no bullets for guns, gas for tanks, or food for soldiers. Without money you are simply throwing a tantrum in the wilderness.

It is now estimated that ISIS makes up to 3 million dollars a day selling oil on the black market. That’s a lot of freakin’ loot. You could do a lot with that much filthy lucre.

So what do we do about it? Some would say we should cut off their ability to sell their oil on the black market. Yeah, good luck with that. That’s like trying to keep water from pouring out of a colander. There are always too many holes to plug. People are so greedy for oil that if they can get it for 30 dollars a barrel rather than 100 dollars a barrel, they’ll do so, and to hell with where that money is going. Greed trumps morality every time.

We may not be able to control greed, but we can control need. If we drastically reduce our dependence on oil, then ISIS will be left holding a lot of greasy black real estate in a bomb-blasted wasteland. If we really want to fight ISIS, rather than panicking about the occasional terrorist that slips through an ocean of desperate and innocent immigrants, what we need to do is go green.

Solar and wind power are the great equalizers. No nation or region or insane extremist can corner that market. Energy can even be created from the mounds of refuse that we Americans seem so hellbent on producing on a daily basis.

We have the ability to drastically reduce our dependence on oil, and that would cut ISIS off at the knees. And it would have the added benefit of maybe saving the planet so that our progeny won’t be waging war over air and water. What a concept.

I dream of the day when oil is as unnecessary as whalebone corset stays. But you know, it’ll never happen. We’d rather have ISIS if it means we get to keep our SUVs. Think about that next time you press your gas pedal.