The joint Russian/Assad recapture of Palmyra, aided by Iran and others is very good news, unless you remain shackled to many of the flimsy pipe dreams of the so called strategy of the West. It is good because this priceless heritage is back in the hands of those who wish to preserve and treasure it. It is good because it is a strategic defeat for the destructive forces of IS. It is good because this is the first time the Syrian regime and Russia have concentrated forces against IS, with spectacular results. It will be good too for the West and its Arab allies because the joined up nature and clear thinking of their rivals will cause some internal anxieties and bickering which should lead it to sharpen up its act. In particular the West, NATO and the Gulf States will have to take on board a partnership with Russia, which in the end recognizes her as an ally, in the fight against militant and extreme Islam.
There is a caution in this tale however. It may well be possible to degrade and even destroy IS as a state, but it will remain as an ideology to attract those who feel angry that the good things in life are not available to them and are on the lookout for something to give them status and their lives meaning. As a terrorist organisation IS does not require to be a state, and defeating the latter may actually increase the threat from the former.