The fall of Ramadi to the Islamic State militant group on Wednesday was not a big deal. The city was deep inside Islamic State-held territory, Islamic State fighters had controlled 80 percent of it since March, and we already knew that the Iraqi Army can't fight. Even so, Islamic State is not going to take much more of Iraq. What it doesn't already hold is either Shiite or just not Arab at all (Kurdistan), and that is not fertile ground for Sunni Arab fanatics.
The fall of Palmyra on Friday was a very big deal, because it was clear evidence that the Syrian Army's morale is starting to crumble. It was doing quite well until last summer and even regaining ground from the insurgents, but the tide has now turned. After every defeat and retreat, it gives up more easily at the next stop. It may be too late already, but at best the Syrian regime is now in the last chance saloon.
The Syrian Army is very tired and short of manpower after four years of war, but what is really making the difference is that the insurgents are now united in two powerful groups rather than being split into dozens of bickering fragments. Unfortunately, both of those groups are Islamist fanatics.