If that country is central to a larger region, you maintain at least some control over that region.While the U.S. may not need the oil specifically, having control over the Iraqi oil fields and production provides the U.S. a good degree of control over political aspects of the region they otherwise couldn't.Though I still maintain it was just as much for personal profit by senior officials in the last administration as well as personal retaliation again Saddam by W for the assassination attempt on his father.

...and we close out this discussion, ladies and gentlemen, moving to another thread because in 10 short posts it's officially gone off the rails.Next.

First, there is a stickey in the Off Topic section; Political Discussions On BP, where Josh has outline the rules concerning political discussions, so let's take care to follow them.In our new political environment I'm getting concerned about how the real estate industry might change due to political influences and any good business person must give consideration to government oversight and how regulatory changes might impact any business plan.This is not about any one official, (President) but rather the philosphy of the two major parties, the Democrats and the Republicans and their agendas and how,if their respective agendas become reality, could change the way you do business.What is the likelyhood that either party will control the House and Senate and take the Whitehouse?

Hello, I just introduced myself in the new member area so this is my first official post!

I am hopeful that breakdowns and plans as @Pat L. mentioned would be very helpful. that would be like getting to know the execution part.now, a bigger question... how do you know that you are ready to goto architech, builder and bank and start the process officially ?

@Jenkins Ramon Basketball season went well but I am officially done with basketball and am now a Realtor/Investor!

I have a lot of questions and look forward to others' opinions.The house is ready, and I'm in the process of drawing up a lease, but aside from setting up a business account at the bank, do I need to have an official business name?

(and neither would a lot of other people). to update everyone: we got a counter offer today that was only $1000 more than we offered so we accepted and signed the contract today. just waiting for official loan approval and the waiting period and then loan closing and we'll officially be first time homeowners!

I am lucky to have a wife who works nights and can meet with city officials during the day for rental inspections and stuff like that.

If you actually go down to the courthouse, the employees there should be able to help you find what you're looking for (some places are more cooperative than others).For the mortgage balance the only way you'll get an official payoff amount is to contact the lender with the borrower's permission; so what I usually do is take the open mortgages and run them through a mortgage amortization calculator to get a ballpark of where the balance might be.