What made the Islamic State the singularly lethal threat it became is the same reasoning behind American officials warning not to lower the guard against the Islamists of ISIS. In two words: global threat. Unlike other terrorist groups operating in the Middle Eastern theater and targeting local populations and typically U.S. interests within their reach, ISIS immediately became a threat virtually throughout the world. Virtually anywhere someone who is a malcontent, deranged, sociopathic or violent has been and according to the State Department, continues to be a threat. The warning delivered on Thursday to reporters at Foggy Bottom by envoy to the international coalition fighting ISIS Ambassador James Jeffrey, and counter-terrorism coordinator Nathan Sales, stressed the global factor and asserted that contrary to declarations of victory expressed by politicians, the reality is a large number of armed terrorists thoroughly deployed throughout Africa who frequently attack American interests. ISIS uses modern communication to encourage “lone wolf” attacks while providing motivation, encouragement and instruction in creating increasingly effective tools for killing.