THE FALL AND/OR RISE OF ISIS: The Islamic State in Syria is either on its last legs or on the verge of a resurgence, depending on whose assessment you’re buying. At the Pentagon yesterday, Col. Sean Ryan, the chief spokesman for the anti-ISIS coalition, said U.S.-backed fighters are closing in on the “last pocket of ISIS resistance” in Syria, and insisted that remaining ISIS fighters are becoming increasingly desperate. “Let me be clear: ISIS is not yet defeated, they’re in the final throes of their evil ambitions.” Ryan said the ISIS remnants are essentially trapped in a small area of the Middle Euphrates River Valley and are being captured by the hundreds, with over 700 men now being held by Syrian Democratic Forces along with their families. The total number of ISIS members, including women and children, now in custody is reported to be more than 2,000.

ISW BEGS TO DIFFER: And then there’s a new assessment by the Institute for the Study of War, which concludes ISIS is reconstituting itself in Iraq and Syria. “ISIS is waging an effective campaign to reestablish durable support zones while raising funds and rebuilding command-and-control over its remnant forces,” the institute’s Brandon Wallace and Jennifer Cafarella write. “On its current trajectory, ISIS could regain sufficient strength to mount a renewed insurgency that once again threatens to overmatch local security forces in both Iraq and Syria.” The analysis cites figures from Pentagon reports suggesting there may still be as many as 30,000 ISIS members spread across the two countries.