Politics

Former CIA Deputy Director: Obama Didn’t Attack ISIS Oil Because Of The Environment [VIDEO]

Steve Guest Media Reporter
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Former Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Morell suggested that Barack Obama didn’t order the bombing of ISIS’s oil transportation infrastructure until recently in part because he was concerned about environmental damage.

Morell also said the White House was concerned about destroying infrastructure that could be used by the Syrian people.

Appearing on PBS’s “Charlie Rose” on Tuesday, Rose pointed out that before the terrorist attacks in Paris, the U.S. had not bombed ISIS-controlled oil tankers. (RELATED: US Launches Mass Airstrikes Against ISIS Oil Trucks)

Morell explained, “Prior to Paris, there seemed to be a judgment that … look, we don’t want to destroy these oil tankers because that’s infrastructure that’s going to be necessary to support the people when ISIS isn’t there anymore, and it’s going to create environmental damage. And we didn’t go after oil wells — actually hitting oil wells that ISIS controls because we didn’t want to do environmental damage and we didn’t want to destroy that infrastructure, right.”

“So now we’re hitting oil in trucks,” Morell then suggested. “And maybe you get to the point where you say we also have to hit oil wells. So those are the kind of tough decisions you have to make.”

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