July 29, 2014 | Quote
The Islamic State Is The Newest Petrostate
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However, that money is also desperately needed to cover the salaries of public workers in places the militants now occupy. Providing basic public services to show that they can do more than conquer and crucify, but can govern to a limited extent, also costs money. Serving as an unelected proxy for ousted or absent governments has long been a way for Islamist groups, from Hezbollah to Hamas, to broaden popular support.
“They need to keep their war machine going, but they also need to govern, and that's costing them money,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a terrorism expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He estimates that most of the oil revenue is quickly spent pacifying restless tribal leaders, bribing coalition partners, and paying to keep functional the basic sinews of daily life.
“If they don't make happen the things that people are used to see happening, their rule is going to look really, really bad,” he said.
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“They're overplaying their hand everywhere they have a hand, and that's going to come back and hurt them,” Gartenstein-Ross said.
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