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A member of the Syrian government forces walks next to a well at Jazel oil field, near the ancient city of Palmyra in the east of Homs province after they retook the area from Islamic State (IS) group fighters on March 9, 2015

White House Sends Ankara Two Warning Shots Over Daesh Oil Smuggling

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Senior US government representatives on Wednesday and Thursday finally addressed the terrorist organization's smuggling of oil via Turkish territory.

Two senior US officials have conceded to Turkey's role in the Daesh oil trade, having previously supported Ankara's denials that it enables the terrorist group to profit by selling stolen Syrian oil.

On Wednesday US State Department spokesman John Kirby admitted that Turkey was allowing Daesh to transport contraband oil across its border, and said the US government wanted Turkey to close its border with Syria.

Kirby referred to a "98-kilometer stretch" of the Turkish-Syrian border, "which still needs to be closed off because it provides avenues of sustenance for ISIL," allowing oil, fighters and other supplies to pass between the two countries.

"We’re working with the Turks to see what we can do to help close that 98-kilometers stretch off," said Kirby, adding that "the Turkish government realizes the importance of this stretch of ground as well, and we’re working hard with them to see what we can do to close it off."

However, quick to deflect attention from Ankara's links with Daesh, Kirby added that "it’s not just about oil. It’s about all the ways that ISIL can sustain itself inside Syria."

On Thursday US Treasury official Adam Szubin admitted that Daesh oil is smuggled into Turkey, along with the illogical conclusion that "ISIL is selling a great deal of oil to the Assad regime," and claimed that despite being enemies, the two are "still engaged in millions and millions of dollars of trade."

Szubin alleged that more oil is sold to the Syrian government that to Turkey.

"Some is coming across the border into Turkey," admitted Szubin. The official said that each month, the terrorists make as much as $40 million selling oil, and have earned more than $500 million from the oil trade so far.

The official was unable, however, to come up with any evidence to back up his claim that Assad's government is buying oil from Daesh. 

The claim was first put forward by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month, in order to deflect attention from the evidence Russia had produced to prove that the Turkish government is buying oil from Daesh.

Related:
Oil Smuggling and Syria: Is NATO No Better Than Turkey?
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How Daesh is Making Money Off the Oil Fields in Syria and Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister: Daesh Smuggles Majority of Oil Through Turkey
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US government, Syria, United States, Turkey
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  • Mitach2002
    The terrorist American government says that but it doesn't mean it.
  • Love for God
    A guilty mind betrays and destroys itself...
  • marcanhalt
    BEtter get your stories together, boys, before they usher you out to the shark tanks, and that is not only the reporters it is people like us to who to listen to your lines of shit.
  • jas
    "We’re working with the Turks to see what we can do to help close that 98-kilometers stretch off," said Kirby, adding that "the Turkish government realizes the importance of this stretch of ground as well, and we’re working hard with them to see what we can do to close it off."
    --
    NATO is doing nothing but insisting on its "safe zone" which is a euphemism for where terrorists can find peaceful retreat inside of Syria. By complicating the border area with troops or by building a wall. It's all about stopping the bombs. NATO never wants anything to actually solve the terror problem.

    So when someone like Kirby pretends to want border control, his "solution" will always include a stop to Russian or Syrian bombing of the area.
  • Terra
    Rainbow colored House Sends Ankara Two Warning Shots Over Daesh Oil Smuggling?

    And what kind of shots where those, Vodka ones?
    The only shot they would sent are ones that says, turkey must not un-do all their hard work to get cheap Syrian oil!
    HYPOCRITICAL much!!
  • Russell
    The US are experts at forging alliances with questionable regimes and overlooking wrong doing. While it's true lots of countries turn something of a blind eye to wrong doing, the US has turned it into an art form. And they end up supporting terrorism and then protecting terrorism for both political and business reasons.

    The US public are tragically misled by their media and so, unless they surf the web to find alternative viewpoints, tend to believe that the US is sincere in its international dealings. When in truth the US opposes democracy as much as it supports it.
  • Blackie
    They said do not get caught...
  • dvdgrg09
    It's hard to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but you guys don't stop trying. Hardened cockroaches do not change their story. The words may change, but the story stays the same. Only when the cockroach is lying squashed on the floor and the weight of cockroaches equals the weight of tea in China is the silk purse complete.
  • dronnieb
    The money have to be banked somewhere an inside Turkey is very risky . The US and Swiss governments should act in the same manner as they hounded the FIFA officials. The EU is up for the scandal of the millinium if Turkey is admitted.
  • The US gov. is unlikely to do anything as they are in it themselves., either some individuals, or some US companies. Someone is getting a cut and they are prepared to do anything to continue the business venture.
  • Stan Vaughan
    Still the US admissions certainly make things look even worse for Turkey
  • Stan Vaughan
    Still the US admissions certainly make things look even worse for Turkey
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