Iraq

  America is a Nation with a mission - and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our aim is a democratic peace - a peace founded upon the...

How to stop ISIS, a group too hardline even for al-Qaida, in control of $3 Billion, 30,000 men and a lot of captured U.S. arms, with minds and hearts focused on the creation of a Sunni Fundamentalist Caliphate, is emerging as a most important topic among world leaders.

We are now witnessing the inevitable consequences of going into a war in a nation that posed no threats to the US, was politically stable, sectarian, where Shiites, Sunni and Christians lived side by side in relative harmony and al Qaeda was viewed as an enemy by all sides.

Unfortunately, since religion is such a minefield for politicians, Americans have become accustomed to disassociating religious extremists from their religion so as not to offend mainstream religious voters.

It was a no-brainer (or as known in Republican circles, a "Gohmert") for Republicans to vote against background checks, an assault weapons ban and a gun magazine limit. And it was just as easy for them to be "outraged" by the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. Only If deaths help them politically, do they matter.

Putin's game plan has been clear, using Russia's renewed oil revenues and supplies to support and control those countries that undermine stability for the rest of the world to create a space for Russia to wedge itself back in as the most powerful and threatening force among nations.

The republicans hurry to war but refuse to care for the veterans their war created. With that in mind, I believe that more veterans than ever are going to vote for a Democrat who is against senseless WAR! Bernie Sanders has been against all our wars since he has been a Rep. or Senator. Nearly all the GOP candidates are in favor of said wars. They even want to start another with Iran.

American Sniper is the first truly great film made about the war in Iraq. It is not a celebration of war; or a call to action against Muslims. It is a sad film about the bravery of warriors in battles whose purpose is lost in the fog of war.

Before you brush this topic off as irrelevant, you might want to consider how often it comes back into political discussions along with the lie that it was a war resolution rather than a peace resolution.

Who does ISIS have to thank for the deadbolts being broken on the doors to Iraq? They ought to commission a bathtub self portrait of George W. Bush out of gratitude.