The Islamic State (ISIS) is creating a new state in the Middle East as the United States stands idly by, says former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.
ISIS announced a 2015 budget of $2 billion on Monday and opened a bank in Mosul, Iraq. It previously created its own currency.
"I think it shows ISIS is serious about consolidating its control over the physical territory that it holds," Bolton said Monday on
Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."
All of that can be swept away by military force, Bolton said, but added that he doesn't see sufficient military force coming anytime soon.
"It has been six months, seven months since they swept out of Syria and captured huge parts of Iraq's territory, including Mosul," Bolton said. "And the response has been ineffective, to say the least. Setting up a currency and budget and bank does not really mean you are a state. It is a step that shows how serious they are."
The longer America waits to act, the harder it will be to displace ISIS, he said.
A $2 billion budget might sound "pathetic" by standards of established nations, but it shows ISIS is well on its way toward establishing itself as a true state, he said.
"The fact is that the states of Iraq and Syria have disappeared," Bolton said. "ISIS is creating a new state in the Middle East, and we are not responding effectively."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.