ISIS realized this vision on June 28, 2014, by formally establishing a Caliphate-almost 3 years to the day after CIA director Brennan's assurances that it would never happen. In their official statement that day ISIS announced that they had "Gained the essentials necessary for khilifah (caliphate), which the Muslims are sinful for if they do not try to establish."
With nearly ever passing day, it absorbs more cities and villages in Iraq and Syria. To date, this desert heartland of the Caliphate puts the Islamic State in control of more than six million people