On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson dubbed the Syrian Civil War an “issue of homeland security for the United States,” while other officials express concern that Syria is nearing a “worst case scenario” for the US.

That worst case is a stalemated civil war, where al-Qaeda factions have control of significant territory and access to recruits they can use to launch attacks abroad, including at the United States.

Which is funny, because the US has long presented a protracted stalemate as its overt goal is Syria, arming the rebels enough to keep them in the fight and eventually force talks where the US could get a favorable settlement for themselves.

A stalemate the administration was convinced was worthwhile is now plainly a calamity, but with much of the administration’s leadership still grousing about their failed push to sell a US invasion of Syria, it may well be that spinning Syria’s status quo as a disaster, albeit one that is in no small part a product of US policy, might give them another chance to push for war.