’d written an article last year about ISIS’ outlook as a military presence in Iraq and Syria. My analysis at the time led me to the conclusion that contrary to their posturing, ISIS was a remarkably weak and under-qualified fighting force whose success emerged more from exploiting regional instability than from their skill and acumen as a martial entity. In short, they were reckless, lacking in discipline, tactically shortsighted, and staffed by idiots. Evil, but incompetent.