The problem is that you don’t have a main WP loop so get_the_ID() is not returning anything.
I’m only guessing what where this needs to go
<?php
while(have_posts()) : the_post();
?>
<div class="row-fluid dispatch-issue">
<div class="span3″>
<?php the_post_thumbnail(); ?>
<p class="e-dispatch"><a href="<?php echo the_field('external_url'); ?>" target="_blank">View e-Dispatch</a></p>
</div>
<div class="span9″>
<h1><?php the_title(); ?></h1>
<?php
// args
$args = array(
'post_type' => 'article',
'meta_query' => array(
array(
'key' => 'issue',
'value' => '"' . get_the_ID() . '"',
'compare' => '='
)
)
);
// get results
$the_query = new WP_Query( $args );
// The Loop
?>
<?php if( $the_query->have_posts() ): ?>
<ul>
<?php while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post(); ?>
<li>
<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a>
</li>
<?php endwhile; ?>
</ul>
<?php endif; ?>
<?php wp_reset_query(); // Restore global post data stomped by the_post(). ?>
</div>
</div>
<?php
endwhile;
?>
