How Saudia Arabia Combats ISIS by Low Oil Prices

Here in America recently, we've really enjoyed that oil prices have been decreased as of late. It feels absolutely wonderful to go to the pump and not feel your wallet decrease in weight (just out of curiosity, why is this still an expression? We all just use plastic cards and place them back in our wallet when done.). 

But there is a much more significant reason why low oil prices right now are a beautiful thing. A reason that has greater geopolitical significance, as well as the potential for much greater benefit for people around the world, then anything economic. 

ISIS is now having difficulty making a profit on their smuggled oil sold through the black market. 

Ever since the United States officially got involved in the ISIS controversy, they knew that one of the best ways to destroy the organization was to cut off their profit from their oil smuggling. The United States had then urged Turkey to strengthen border control to prevent ISIS access to Turkey's black market. 

But regardless of access to black markets, if oil prices as a whole goes down, it becomes hard for ISIS to actually make meaningful profit on the black market to begin with. This means that our currently low oil prices is good because it might just slow the atrocities of ISIS. 

But what has caused these low oil prices to begin with, Believe it or not, evidence indicates that this is Saudi Arabia's attempt at squashing ISIS right now. 

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of oil controlling 18% of the world's petroleum reserves. This gives them immense power over the oil prices. If they speed up production, prices go down. If they slow down production, prices naturally inflate. This of course is all due to the law of Supply and Demand. 

Right now, Saudi Arabia is pumping oil quickly and that is a large contributor to the lower oil prices. They themselves are losing revenue through this. But they believe that ISIS poses a threat to their security, so they are willing to cut off their nose to spite their face. 

Saudi Arabia is in this for the long haul too. They believe that they can withstand these lower oil prices for 8 years. 

Would it be incredibly cheesy to end this post with "God bless Saudi Arabia?" 

Too bad. God bless Saudi Arabia.