If you read the news you would be excused for thinking there is actually a war going on in Syria. You’d also be forgiven for thinking that Syria, never a Garden of Eden, has collapsed into a festering, effervescing puddle of FAIL that can’t even aspire to the worth term of Third World S**t Hole. But you would be wrong. While you were wasting valuable time reading and engaging reality, the US State Department was on the job and fixed the problem. From the US State Department’s The Year-in-Review: Pivotal Foreign Policy Moments of 2015

Bringing Peace, Security to Syria. #2015in5words

Syria: The conflict in Syria has continued to unfold in tragic ways over the course of 2015. From the humanitarian crisis endured by refugees fleeing violence, to the reprehensible human rights violations and violence carried out by the Asad regime, the Syrian people have borne a heavy load. The United States and many members of the international community have stepped up to aid the Syrian people during their time of need – the United States has led the world in humanitarian aid contributions since the crisis began in 2011. Led by Secretary Kerry, the United States also continues to push for a political transition in Syria, and under his stewardship, in December, the UN Security Council passed a U.S.-sponsored resolution that puts forward a roadmap that will facilitate a transition within Syria to a credible, inclusive, nonsectarian government that is responsive to the needs of the Syrian people.

Image link in case this gets memory-holed.

What do you even do with a lie this blatant? What does it say about any organization that would write such a thing? The usually sympathetic Foreign Policy has this to say:

On the one hand, it’s understandable that State would note Syria in its 2015 roundup. The war there dominated headlines throughout the year, and leaving it off the list could draw more attention than actually including it.

On the other hand, it’s hard to argue that the United States brought any significant “peace” or “security” to the Syrian people. According to the United Nations, as of October 2015 some 250,000 people have been killed in more than four years of civil war (casualty figures for 2015 alone are not yet available). More than 11 million refugees have left the region, many of whom swelled onto European shores in the fall of 2015; it’s not clear how many will ever get asylum in Europe, or elsewhere around the world, including in the United States. A March 2015 UN report also noted that four in five Syrians are now living in poverty.

The Barack Obama administration, meanwhile, has struggled to keep pace with the rapidly deteriorating situation there. After spending years prioritizing Assad’s departure, Washington has now hinted that he could stay in power longer to aid in the fight against the Islamic State. The White House has also reluctantly found itself battling the Islamic State alongside Russia and Iran, staunch Assad supporters whose ultimate goals in Syria are unlikely to match those of the United States. After long promising there would be no American boots on the ground in Syria, meanwhile, President Obama signed off on the deployment of dozens of U.S. Special Operations personnel there. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the commandos are active in northern Syria, and are focused on building an anti-Islamic State partnership with Syrian Arab rebels.

Diplomats are ever careful in the language they use to describe international affairs. When it comes to Syria, “peace” and “security” might not be the best choice to describe what the United States delivered there in 2015. With Russia now complicating U.S. war plans for the region, it might be a long time coming until those two things can be established in a nation destroyed by years of war.

Other things the State Department accomplished while you were asleep include re-establishing ties with Cuba, protecting the Arctic, clinching the Iran nuclear agreement, stopping the Ebola outbreak, committing to U.N. development goals, securing a free trade deal, preserving ocean health, and reaching the climate agreement.

Photo credit: Kurdishstruggle via Flickr Creative Commons