On September 13, the jihadist group the Islamic State released a video of an operative beheading David Haines, a British aid worker. This is the latest death in a brutal campaign launched by the those in the group, who aim to introduce their own brand of Islam to the entire Fertile Crescent.

The organization is known for the extremely brutal nature of their attacks–indeed so brutal, that al-Qaeda publicly stated in February that they did not wish to be affiliated with ISIS. They have been steadily capturing towns in Iraq since June. However, does it really matter?

First, some history. The Islamic State was founded in 1999 as a Sunni jihadist organization, then named JTJ, and fought against Bush’s troops in the Iraq War. Since 2004, they have orchestrated numerous suicide attacks, the majority of them against Shi’a Muslims, the other main sect of Islam.

Although former president Bush focused on launching offensives against al-Qaeda for their attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, CIA studies showed that in 2007, al-Qaeda accounted for only 2% of terrorist attacks in Iraq, while the IS, then named AQI, accounted for 15%.

In a special CNN report in June of 2008, AQI was proven to have spies in US military bases, and that members of the inner circle of Saddam Hussein, deposed dictator in the war, were running the group.

After a decline in 2008, when President Obama began pulling troops out of the country, ISI, at the time, experienced a power surge. On May 16, 2010, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the current leader, was appointed to the highest position in the group. Things only went downhill.

By July of 2013, ISI was killing a thousand people a month. They also began planning raids on Abu Ghraib prison, where terrorists from the Iraq War were held, and, like Guantanamo Bay, were notorious for their “enhanced interrogation” tactics. During these raids, 500 prisoners were freed.

Five months after conflict began in Syria, in mid-to-late 2011, al-Baghdadi began to send troops into the country, where they have been fighting Bashir al-Assad’s totalitarian regime ever since, constantly disputing with al-Qaeda over leadership of the rebel armies.

However, this January, a British newspaper reported that he had made several deals with al-Assad over selling oil fields that he had captured from al-Assad. On June 29, ISI renamed itself the Islamic State, its current name, declared all its territory the new Muslim caliphate, the old Abbasid caliphate destroyed by the grandson of Genghis Khan in 1258, and named al-Baghdadi its caliph, the leader of their supposed caliphate.

In August, an IS commander stated that in the east of Syria, all members of the Free Syrian Army, the major rebel army supported by Europe and the US, have joined the IS. In July, Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, a Nigerian jihadist group, publicly declared his support, and stated he planned to launch a military campaign similar to the IS’s.

Currently, the IS has undergone ten name changes. It provides public services for its controlled people, while attempting to proselytize them. Their membership exceeds 25,000, from 10,000 in June, and 2,500 in late 2012.

The IS has a branch devoted to producing propaganda, and its use of social media as advertisement has been described as more sophisticated than American companies.

At the most recent count, they have beheaded two American journalists and one British aid worker in retaliation against bombings against their members. The IS has $2 billion, making it the richest jihadist group in the world. If it were a country, measured by wealth per adult, it would be the 26th richest.

These assets have been acquired by robbery of banks and armored trucks, as well as threats. They have received $100 million in total donations, mostly from wealthy individuals in the Arabian Peninsula. Another source of revenue comes from selling oil and electric power to the Syrian government.

They are reported to have numerous types of assault rifles, machine guns, RPGs, surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank weapons, battle tanks, truck mounted guns, anti-aircraft guns, rocket launchers, helicopters, and cargo planes.

They stole nuclear materials from Mosul University in July, which were reported to have limited capabilities to produce WMDs. In August, they were accused by the UN of committing mass atrocities and war crimes.

The IS commonly utilizes murder, torture, and amputation, to control its controlled people, and have systematically murdered all non-Sunnis and disloyal Sunnis, in attempts of ethnic cleansing.

There have been numerous accounts of children being recruited as soldiers. Captured women are sold as slaves, and young girls are either raped or married off to operatives. In areas under IS jurisdiction, women must be fully veiled, and can only go outside when absolutely necessary.

Alcohol, cigarettes, hookah cafes, music, and photographs in store windows are banned. Christians must either convert, pay a special tax, or be executed.

So, when did we start to care? After tensions in Iraq flared earlier this year, the IS came to international attention for its brutal tactics against government soldiers, executing hundreds at a time. The beheadings of the three hostages further thrust them onto the world stage.

The United Kingdom has issued a severe terror threat warning, and President Obama has already conducted several drone strikes against IS operatives, and plans to do so in the near future. If this continues, more hostages will certainly die, and the US might be forced to intervene in the Syrian Civil War. However, should we really care?

The IS only seeks to control the Fertile Crescent. They have shown no indication of desires to attack the US. Their only attacks against the US have been in retaliation for attempts to curb their agenda.

Their digital magazine, Dabiq, does not encourage the average Muslim to detonate a bomb outside the local post office. In fact, Dabiq mainly serves to convince the world of the IS’s religious legitimacy. Therefore, the IS is not a threat to us.

Also, we have no reason to intervene in Iraq or Syria. Doing so would only force us to choose between the lesser of two evils. In Syria, we would choose between a group who beheads and tortures, or a government who oppresses and gasses its people.

In Iraq, we would choose between a system that provides services for the people, but kills anyone who disagrees with them, or an ineffective, weak, and corrupt government. Yes, they have killed thousands of people. Yet, to reaffirm the power of another murderous or corrupt regime is just as bad.

The IS shows no inclination to bother us, only to join in the rat race for power in the Fertile Crescent. There is no way to win in this conflict. Therefore, our only course of action is to sit back and let history unfold.