The US and much of the world have been rudely awakened to the fact that the group formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is both a dangerous terrorist organisation, and considerably more than that. The deadly reality of its capabilities and ambitions is captured in the latest title by which Isis styles itself: the Islamic State. It is a de facto government with evolving borders that seeks to impose its vision of society on the millions of people over whom it rules. And, as it has dramatically shown since the capture of the Iraqi city of Mosul in June, it seeks to expand its borders and the numbers subject to its control.
美国和世界大部分地区被这样一个事实粗暴地唤醒：原先被称为“伊拉克与黎凡特伊斯兰国”（Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant，简称Isis）的组织，远不止是一个危险的恐怖主义组织；它的致命实力和野心，反映在它给自己的最新封号上：伊斯兰国(Islamic State)。这是个事实上的政府，有着仍在变化的边界线，谋求将自己的社会愿景强加于自己统治的数百万号民众头上。此外，这个组织还谋求扩张自己的边界，扩大自己控制的民众数量。自6月攻占伊拉克摩苏尔以来，这一意图已表露无遗。