The world is waking up to the threat posed by the Islamic militants known as Islamic State or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The threat is real, as has been made evident by the territorial gains the group has achieved. They have changed the map of Mideast with the seizure of large swaths of land in Iraq and Syria.
Its murderous brutality is also clear from the beheadings it proudly broadcasts to the world and the reports of mass killings in the towns it occupies. The size and scale of that threat must be honestly assessed if it is to be countered effectively.
The world today, however, is responding viscerally and emotionally to the group's savagery. Islamic State can be defeated, but doing so will require a serious and thoughtful strategy, not a knee-jerk reaction to its brutality.