[Marine_Uncle]

"...but why wasn’t Syria designated as part of the Axis of Evil from the beginning?"
Perhaps there where real attempts by the State Department to see if the little lion could be pursuaded to mend his ways.
Obviouse to most a failed attempt at diplomacy over some ten years.

[RightWhale]

Sometime about a year ago, maybe even more recently, Syria was declared by State to be malleable or quiescent or some other such plastic.