Nuclear holocaust?

There have been articles appearing for the last few days claiming "ISIS" is planning a "nuclear holocaust".  One such article was written by a German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer claiming to have spent 10 days with "ISIS".  His conclusions are pessimistic to say the least.  He does not believe the West is capable of stopping "ISIS" and only an Arab led effort will be successful.

Todenhöfer's article paints a fanatical group, or rather nation, bent on total genocide of anyone not following their strict interpretation of Sunnism.  While I have no doubt the people he met and interviewed were every bit as rabid with fanaticism as he portrays, I have a hard time understanding how all of that will lead to a nuclear holocaust.

I have no doubt that at least some of the male refugees entering into Europe are ISIS operatives and many more can be compromised through coercion.  Therefore, major attacks in Europe and the US (thanks to knuckleheads like Hillary and John McCain who want us to take in more refugees) will increase.  However, making the leap to a nuclear attack is the difference between sending a manned mission to the moon versus Mars.  Getting access to enough nuclear material to launch an attack is trickier than it looks in movies and television.  Radioactive material can be tracked from overhead (especially with large amounts).  Handling and detonation of said material is very technical and not for the average rabid fanatic.

That's not to dismiss the notion outright.  Of course with enough planning, determination and funding a group could devise a way of doing it.  But in the meantime, a lone gunman armed with a rifle and good supply of magazines is far easier to execute.  Use a squad of riflemen in an attack similar to that in Mumbai and there is really little the police can do.  The US is already at odds racially with one another because of police killings and serial killers.  What if ISIS decides to further manipulate the situation?

It will be interesting to see if the resolve of ISIS changes now that Russia has begun airstrikes.  Unlike Mr. Obama who loves talking to himself about diplomatic solutions involving the UN, Mr. Putin knows that with a group like ISIS you just need to "get Medieval on their ass".  Russia has proven they are not worried about offending anyone's sensibilities in executing their strategy.  ISIS is already persona non grata with the non-Sunni world so Russia has even less to fear from political backlash.