Daesh/Isis takes a pay cut

CNN: Isis cuts it's fighters salaries by 50%

Wartime pressure on the Islamic State is forcing it to slash its fighters' salaries by half, according to documents leaked from inside ISIS territory.

ISIS might seem like a ragtag group of terrorists, but in reality, it operates as a government over parts of Iraq and Syria. And it hands out biweekly paychecks to its jihadist army.
ISIS soldiers earn between $400 and $1,200 a month, plus a $50 stipend for their wives and $25 for each child, according to the Congressional Research Service.

But running a state at war is expensive. And recent victories for the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS mean that the Islamic State can't afford to pay its soldiers quite as much as it used to.

"On account of the exceptional circumstances the Islamic State is facing, it has been decided to reduce the salaries that are paid to all mujahideen by half, and it is not allowed for anyone to be exempted from this decision, whatever his position," the ISIS' government wrote in a memorandum.

Despite the pay cuts, the Islamic State said it "will continue to distribute provisions twice every month as usual."

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ISIS makes most of its money by taxing its population. But one major source of pressure on ISIS' finances is the U.S.-led coalition's bombing runs. Airstrikes are taking aim at the ISIS oil business: blowing up oil trucks, storage tanks, mobile refineries and other oil field equipment.

The result? ISIS was making $40 million a month on oil alone in early 2015, according to the U.S. Treasury. Now, it's making only a fraction of that, according to the State Department.

The airstrikes have also targeted ISIS money itself -- literally. Last week, the United States military made an extremely unusual move, two U.S. defense officials told CNN. It dropped two 2,000-pound bombs on a building in central Mosul, Iraq, destroying a cache of cash worth "millions."

50% paycut? That's gotta be hell on morale 🙂

It's the old lesson, hitting them in the wallet always hurts.

And this couldn't go in the war on isis thread?

Originally posted by Time-Immemorial
And this couldn't go in the war on isis thread?

That's very ironic coming from the guy who makes countless threads on similar issues.

Originally posted by Q99
50% paycut? That's gotta be hell on morale 🙂

It's the old lesson, hitting them in the wallet always hurts.

Originally posted by Stigma
ISIS foot soldiers are not fighting for mone. They're fighting for a sick ideology...

You can't eat your Quran.

Originally posted by FinalAnswer
You can't eat your Quran.

But on a serious note, during the WWII the Red Army soldiers were eating soles of their shoes when there was nothing left. Radical Islamic fanatics will be at least as resourceful.

Red Army soldiers also died from starvation and sickness in the millions.

ISIS numbers in the mere thousands.

Originally posted by Q99
50% paycut? That's gotta be hell on morale 🙂

It's the old lesson, hitting them in the wallet always hurts.

Ah but what if they use religious bullshit to put a spin on it? Like saying Allah wants them to spend less. Or saying "we are going to keep half your pay so you don't spend it so that when you die you have a bunch of money to take to Allah, he allows you to eat bacon once you die and the shit is expensive!".

Originally posted by Q99
CNN: Isis cuts it's fighters salaries by 50%

50% paycut? That's gotta be hell on morale 🙂

It's the old lesson, hitting them in the wallet always hurts.

Now imagine what would happen if Republicans would approve the forensic accountant nominated to disrupt ISIS' finances.

Originally posted by Stigma
ISIS foot soldiers are not fighting for mone. They're fighting for a sick ideology...

Several reports I have read and listened to contradict that. Apparently ISIS is very much like a business and the soldiers enjoy the perks they get by working for the organisation. I think if we reduce them to religious fanaticism, which surely is one aspect, more in some than in others, we are making a mistake and don't deal with them in the most effective manner.

Originally posted by Bardock42
Several reports I have read and listened to contradict that.

Money is a side attraction, the main event still tends to be stupid religious BS. I don't think it's 50/50 on the whole thing. Nor would I even call it 60/40.

ISIS fighters are driven by religious lunacy that happens to conveniently tell them its acceptable to collect women like trophies, rape female slaves as a form of prayer, and basically behave like a warrior of antiquity. Its hard to tell where religious insanity ends, and material greed begins.

...ISIS doesn't give a **** about religion, guys.

It started because selfish people wanted to rule the world, its not because their "God" asked them to do it.

Also, ISIS is less of a group, and more of random people thinking they're part of ISIS and commiting huge crimes.

I don't think the people who started have anything to with, for example, what happened in France.

Originally posted by Surtur
Ah but what if they use religious bullshit to put a spin on it? Like saying Allah wants them to spend less. Or saying "we are going to keep half your pay so you don't spend it so that when you die you have a bunch of money to take to Allah, he allows you to eat bacon once you die and the shit is expensive!".

At the end of the day, it still means they have less money for stuff ^^

Yea, sure, there's fanatics who don't care, but then there's also fanatics who do care and will feel morale hit, and edge cases who are like, "Without the pay, it's not worth it, I need to sneak out." And people who were like, "Ok, I need to get by, they're in power and seem to be winning and it's a lot of money- oh, wait, nope! Nope nope nope, I'm gonna ride this out since it looks like they're going down."

Originally posted by Surtur
Money is a side attraction, the main event still tends to be stupid religious BS. I don't think it's 50/50 on the whole thing. Nor would I even call it 60/40.

Hey, if it's 70/30, then that's 30% who's going to be rethinking things pretty hard!

Money makes the world go round.

To be pretend that this has no effect to the ISIS militants is a mockery. Many ISIS members will definitely quit and maybe try to escape after losing all those perks.

Let's just hope they run out of money sooner than later.

Originally posted by AsbestosFlaygon
Money makes the world go round.

To be pretend that this has no effect to the ISIS militants is a mockery. Many ISIS members will definitely quit and maybe try to escape after losing all those perks.

Let's just hope they run out of money sooner than later.

Indeed, plus it gives the perception they are *losing*, which matters a lot in itself as well.

I wonder do suicide bombers have salary?

Probably. Your family has to eat somehow.

I think there's also only relatively few suicide bombers really.