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Why the Islamic State Represents a Dangerous Turn in the Terror Threat
(Wall Street Journal) Gerald F. Seib - The threat from Islamic extremism has morphed into something new, more ambitious and more dangerous. This threat represents a long-term danger to the U.S., but a more immediate threat to America's friends and foes alike across the Middle East and even Europe. Precisely because the threat from the extreme Islamist movement known as Islamic State is so far-reaching, this movement cries out for a coordinated international coalition to counter it. "ISIS is not a shadowy terrorist cell; rather it is a proto-state that is testing the best ways to get the world's attention and broader support from the Muslim community abroad," says a new analysis by the Institute for the Study of War. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi broadly defines the group's ambitions as well as its enemies. The world, he says, now has divided into two camps, "the camp of Muslims and the mujahidin everywhere, and the camp of the Jews, the crusaders, their allies, and with them the rest of the nations and religions - all being led by America and Russia and mobilized by the Jews." Lest anyone doubt the expanse of ISIS' ambitions, the most recent edition of its magazine Dabiq quotes from an Islamic tradition reflecting the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad: "You will invade the Arabian Peninsula, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. You will then invade Persia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. You will then invade Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it."