Revisiting the Islamic State's 2011-2014 Reemergence: Lessons for the Future

it is an interesting read - but the problem I had in reading it was two fold - it was focused on Our focus of Iraq/Syria and am not sure if they have that same core focus now... and it is terrain focused... which is Our focus. IS does not have to own terrain... and yet everyone else has to defend it. But his last paragraph --- is really good.
"Washington and its allies should therefore focus on fully understanding this changed context, not on refighting the previous battle. Strengthening Iraq's security forces would be a particularly beneficial first step, both to avoid repeating past failures and to limit the role that Iranian-backed militias play in Iraq's future. Such an approach would also alleviate the burden on U.S. forces, which could then focus more on figuring out how to influence events on the ground in Syria despite the lack of U.S. relations with the Assad regime. In the longer term, there is no quick remedy to the IS threat in either country. Even so, the United States should work with local and international partners on the crucial task of resolving the underlying political, economic, social, environmental, and religious problems that IS and other jihadi groups capitalize on."