The political reality in Washington cannot be easily changed, but fortunately, it is easy to profit from the Washington quagmire.

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"The ever-present threat of a far-reaching financial collapse from the worsening quagmire in Greece and Italy generated a raft of daily headlines that injected a high level of trading volatility, " it said.

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So President Reagan decided to withdraw U.S. forces from what would likely become a major military quagmire for the United States, instead of a multinational peacekeeping operation.

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