This biased its beginning, disregarded its real defeat, and - most importantly - downplayed the major role played by Washington. The US supported the proliferation of this terrorist group in the past and continues to do so in the present.

Myth, Reality, and Opportunism 

Those terror analysts live off the promotion of ISIS's capability, celebrating its possible "rebirth", and advertising its "expansion". They recall the 2009-2011 period in Iraq when the group was reduced to few hundred militants only, and how ISIS managed to occupy large territories in Iraq and Syria few years later. This is exactly where this article will start, and argue that ISIS was merely a capable opportunistic group, not a strong group: it benefitted from many elements and opportunities but was much weaker than the world believed. Hence ISIS's fall was quick and miserable, revealing the reality behind the group's apparent power.