A good historical summary of what we are facing

“In view of its ideology, fanaticism, ruthlessness, the size of the territories that it has already occupied, and its regional and perhaps even global ambitions, ISIS can be regarded as the greatest threat since the Second World War and one that could change the map of the Middle East and the post-Sykes-Picot geography of the entire region, and challenge Western interests in the Persian Gulf and beyond. “

http://blog.transnational.org/2014/09/the-threat-of-isis-should-be-taken-seriously/