The massacre of innocents in Paris has brought to the forefront a dramatic shift in ISIS's tactics and strategy. For some time it has been widely believed that ISIS's overriding aim is to capture and hold territory and create a single caliphate out of the present borders of the Middle East, rather than trying to bomb the West or pull off spectacular attacks like the toppling of the Twin Towers in New York. Such raids on the so-called "far enemy," aimed at bringing down the capitalist order, have long been the mission of al-Qaeda; whereas the much newer ISIS, in seeking to conquer the "near enemy' in the Levant, has given priority to establishing its caliphate now.  Read more