Over the weekend, we learned that an Army Delta Force team crossed into Syria from Iraq, killing about a dozen ISIS jihadists including Abu Sayyaf, a top leader.

Sayyaf's wife was captured along with a bunch of computers and cell phones.  A young woman kept as a slave by the couple was rescued.

No injuries to the Delta team.

In just a few moments, Colonels Hunt and Peters will have the inside story on the dramatic operation.

At the same time ISIS was being confronted by the Americans, the Iraqi Army was retreating from an ISIS attack on the town of Ramadi -- which is now under ISIS control.

Reports say the Iraqis once again panicked and fled the battlefield.

ISIS fighters then slaughtered hundreds of people, according to reports by the Associated Press.

Another horror.

Here's how Secretary of State Kerry reacted:

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: “It is possible to have the kind of attack we've seen in Ramadi, but I am absolutely confident in the days ahead that will be reversed.  Large numbers of Daesh were killed in the last few days and will be in the next days.”

The brutal truth is that the Obama administration and the entire world have allowed the ISIS savages to gain power and murder thousands of innocent people. 

They are not hiding in the mountains of Pakistan.  They are an organized army fighting a ground war in Syria and Iraq.  Yet the world stands by and does not really care even though the danger to the world is apparent:

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): “I'm very worried about the Islamic State. It is now in at least 12 countries around North Africa, around the Middle East.  It is organized.  It is an impressive fighting force.  It occupies territory.  It runs a government.  And most importantly, it is evil.  It annihilates in the most brutal of ways.  And so I think that we have to get very serious about what we're going to do not only to contain but to eradicate this force.”

There are two strains about ISIS and Iraq that may influence the presidential election.

First, there is no question that pulling all U.S. troops out of Iraq directly led to groups like ISIS quickly achieving power in that country.  President Obama's top military advisors warned him against the withdrawal.  He did it anyway, telling the world the war had been won.

Dec. 14, 2011

OBAMA: “We’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people.  We’re building a new partnership between our nations.  And we are ending a war not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home.”

Hillary Clinton will have to deal with that miscalculation, as she was secretary of state when it happened.  So part of the ISIS debacle could be assigned to her, unless she can demonstrate that she told President Obama not to withdraw the troops. 

Also, it is apparent that President Obama does not have a cohesive strategy to defeat ISIS going forward.  Does Hillary Clinton have one?

We don't know.

On the Republican side, the nation saw how Jeb Bush struggled with the Iraq War question last week. 

Although some still believe the coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the right thing to do, President Bush and Vice President Cheney among them, history will show that the tribal divisions in that country made it impossible for a non-dictator to govern effectively.

The Sunni-Shia hatred runs so deep unity was impossible and Iraq has now fallen apart because U.S. forces are not there to impose order and prop up the Army.

It is safe to say that the American government did not understand the brutal Iraqi internal situation when the war started.

It is also a fact that nation building is no longer a viable strategy in the Muslim world.

Talking Points believes history will judge that both Presidents Obama and Bush made serious mistakes in Iraq.

While removing Saddam Hussein in the face of a worldwide terror threat may have seemed like a sound tactical decision at the time, the unintended consequences have been staggering for America and the world.

The empowerment of Iran at the top of the list.

So now the USA has to deal with an aggressive terror threat, ISIS.  But because the nation has been exhausted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, decisive action has become much more difficult.

But the next president must defeat ISIS or face ongoing terror violence that will be staggering.

And that's the memo.