National Defense is very much a part of our constitution. We "spread" democracy at gun point to Europe and Japan and it worked quite well.  But we first recived and unconditional surrender. Something the politicians kept us from doing in Iraq.

The Middle east hasn't been stable since the Turks left. And ignoring it won't make it any more stable either.

Because we spent millons on Iraqi Healthcare, which I probably don't support, has no bearing on the issue. We already have a healthcare system. Getting someone else to pick up the tab, won't make it better here nor Iraq.