I believe I was wrong when I claimed ISIS was a threat to future of the world. To encapsulate my reasons for that stance are as follows. One ISIS was not a political movement 'per se'. ISIS is an ideology and because of that the members were insanely dedicated to their cause. Also their potential membership base, ie future supporters and fighters numbered in the billions, the number of people claiming Islam as their belief system*.. They were experts in capturing the eye, then body and soul of young adult males and females (to a lesser extent than males). They were well armed for insurgents, and had nearly inexhaustible funding sources. They had a superb propagandist program as well as battle plan. Go in then convert the 'conquered' population via brain washing them using their religion etc. I left most the particulars out, but you guys get the idea? ISIS had and still has a chance to rule the world if they can convert enough people to radicalized Islam. At one time that goal seemed to be possible but in the same vein of winning the lottery, still it was possible. However, now as more major countries reject them and use military force to defeat ISIS even winning the lottery seems a lot less possible. it appears the world has turned totally against them. They made huge blunders that allowed this. Anyway, the talking point is; does the membership at RF feel ISIS is or was a threat to world peace etc. and what is their future. I will post few questions for the poll.
I would say that ISIS seems more of a local threat - just one of many factions vying for power in an unstable and explosive region. If they somehow manage to prevail within a specific country and can establish a power base, they may become more of a threat. Until then, they're just another group of terrorists without a country. Even Iran opposes ISIS, and they seem to have rather widespread and violent opposition within numerous Muslim-majority countries. Although Turkey seems to be a bit of a wild card lately, so it's not clear how that might turn out.
As some US politicians have mentioned, we could "bomb them back to the Stone Age." If we did that, we could likely totally annihilate ISIS - along with countless innocent civilians. This would create enormous resentment and hatred against America that it would make ISIS look like a Sunday social club.
This is another area where Russia and the US have to get on the same page, since ISIS is against both America and Russia. They could become a greater threat if the US and Russia can't come to terms.
As far as an ideological threat or the potential of converting people to radicalized Islam, they're not really having that much success - even in countries where most of the people are already Muslim. That's where the rubber meets the road, since most people don't really seem to want the kind of world that ISIS is offering, not even the Muslims in Syria and Iraq who are fighting them.
Our other option is that we could just pull out and let the local factions fight it out among themselves. But then that might leave Russia - or other regional powers like Turkey or Iran - to flex their muscle in the region. So, it's a delicate balance we have to deal with.
I don't really see that ISIS would be the main "threat" anyway. They're just the latest in a series of "threats" which have come out of a region which has been chaotic and unstable for many decades. They'll go away someday, and some new "threat" will arise to take its place.