ISIS are more of a threat to the Saudi ruling elite than they are an ally. The Saudis essentially pay their population off with oil revenues to buy peace domest

ISIS are more of a threat to the Saudi ruling elite than they are an ally. The Saudis essentially pay their population off with oil revenues to buy peace domestically. If oil prices start to dip, revenues dry up (although they have an admittedly large bankroll to fall back on, but it's not infinite). And if they can't buy peace, suddenly Saudi Arabia is fertile ground for radical militant-Islamic groups like ISIS. In this context, it's interesting to consider the growth of US Shale Oil and the lifting of sanctions on Iran, who apparently have made an agreement with OPEC, on which the Saudis took a production hit just to get it over the line (iron clad, because it's not like anyone has ever defected from an OPEC cartel agreement...) War Tard is a great read on this: http://wartard.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/the-geopolitics-of-2016-oil-war-chaos_18.html http://wartard.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/the-geopolitics-of-20... . It's a shame he seems to be posting at a rate of about once a year now...