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Many countries have come together in the fight against ISIS, leading tomuch death and destruction on all sides. Pictured here, an explosion is seen fromafar after a U.S.-led air strike in the search for ISIS insurgents.

Finally, the Kurds of the northeast of Syria have enjoyed almost total autonomy from the Assad government due to their remote location and the number of other rebel enemies between their territory and Damascus.The Kurds have garnered a great deal of international sympathy and support, yet the politics of the Middle East makes it practically impossible to create the independent Kurdish state that many people believe they deserve. The impact of the war can be expressed in many statistics. Half a million have died; five million have fled the country, and a further eight million are displaced within Syria itself; the war has cost $200 billion and has devalued the Syrian pound by 1,000 percent; over half the population cannot find work; over half the children in the country are not in school; and the average life expectancy has been cut by a full 20 years. Schools, mosques, and hospitals are not safe zones from the fighting and are sometimes targeted by each side in the war to instill fear in the population. Many Syrians who have fled the country have escaped violence but may not have found an easier life—as refugees live in chronic poverty,dependent primarily on foreign aid,many having to reside in tent cities where there is no work or even running water.Those who

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