Speaking to reporters on The White House lawn this afternoon, President Barack Obama seemed to suggest that the United States will be pondering options while the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) is poised to attack Baghdad, Iraq, this weekend.

Meanwhile events on the ground suggest that U.S. help may come too little and too late to save the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

If ISIS can hold Mosul and consolidate its presence there, it will have taken a giant step towards its goal of creating an Islamist emirate that straddles Iraq and Syria.

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It would be the most significant act by a jihadist group since al-Qaeda attacked the US on 11 September 2001. It could also lead to other changes to the borders Britain and France imposed on the Middle East a century ago, starting with the break-up of Iraq on sectarian lines.

The success of ISIS can only make the turmoil in the Middle East worse. ISIS is an ultra-extremist Sunni Muslim group. Its success will deepen the sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shias that is already the most dangerous fault line in the Middle East.

ISIS already controls more land mass in the world than any previous al-Qaeda or Islamist group. Plus ISIS seized a bank in Mosul during the capture of the city and stole $450 million in Iraqi currency. It is now the most well-funded terror group in the world.