Iraq/Kurdistan: How A Dispute Over Tanker United Leadership Explains The Role Of Oil In The Fight Against ISIS

Oct 15, 2014 | Erin Banco, International Business Times
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A ship filled with Kurdish oil that departed from Turkey recently, and stopped abruptly in the waters just south of Cyprus, may help explain a key aspect of the conflict that's pitting the Islamic State group against a U.S.-led coalition and pretty much every state in the region: access to oil and to the revenues it brings. 

The oil tanker could help steer events in Iraq in a completely new direction, pitting Iraqi military forces against each other and giving ISIS the upper hand militarily.