The Patriot Post® · To Destroy or to Degrade - That Is the Question

U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have succeeded in disabling some oil refineries that supply ISIL with cash. Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said, “The point was to render them incapable of using these refineries, which was a significant stream of revenue for them.” However, the U.S. is being careful to avoid … certain repercussions. The Wall Street Journal reports, “Officials said the strikes wouldn’t target fixed oil fields, a precaution intended to minimize the potential for environmental damage.” Anyone who recalls the first Gulf War knows Saddam Hussein did significant environmental damage to his own country by lighting oil fields on fire. But this caution is perhaps too much. As Hot Air’s Noah Rothman notes, “The report seems to confirm what many have speculated; that the initial strikes on [ISIL] targets in Syria will be aimed primarily at degrading rather than destroying Islamic State infrastructure.”