Syria in the face of terrorism, albeit at a price) on moral principle. But the son - he's about as gentle and genuine as political leaders come, in the Middle East or elsewhere. Indeed until the pipeline deal came up, Bashar and first lady Asma al-Assad were an internationally fêted glamour couple, spending leisure time with Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni, Tony and Cherie Blair, and even the Queen of England.

So, yes Hillary Clinton with her active support for gun running to Syria (to al-Queda and Daesh) is as responsible for the rise of Daesh as anyone in the American political establishment. Perhaps only Turkish President Erdogan would bear more personal responsibility for the rise of Daesh.

A bit of fairness in the equation might go a long way tomaking a lasting peace. Strange that it will take a Jewish President of the US to give the Palestinians a fair shake. Passing on AIPAC after decades of candidate fealty was a great act of courage.

Curiously the American people seem to have rewarded Senator Sanders for his courage as he's now outrunning the front runner.

Pippa Norris's article is well researched but startlingly naive. Ms. Norris fails to note the most important part.

American elections are broken by design. The voting machines are still suspect. Two major presidential elections have a taint of fraud about them (Gore-Bush 2000: Florida hanging chads, etc., Kerry-Bush: Ohio 2004, Diebold machines reprogrammed).

In the current primary cycle, Hillary Clinton has claimed the nomination by claiming all the superdelegates before the primaries even started and by