you ve heard so much and seen so much about isis, that it s easy to get anxious, it s trying to scare you and confuse you. just recently the group took credit for a planned attack in garland, texas. but so far, it appears that two perpetrators were simply inspired by isis not actually a part of it. let me offer a few tentative thoughts about the group. isis is clearly about religion, about its version of radical islam. but it is also about power. there s increasing evidence that the military backbone of isis is made up not by a group of islamic zealots, but rather high ranking officers from saddam hussein s army, bathists, who at least austensibly are secular isis has thrived because of a local cause, the group has