On Syria, Democrats look to deflect the conversation

WASHINGTON (AP) — In his speech at the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump made six references to the conflict in Syria, pointing to the war-ravaged nation as a source of much of the world's turmoil, particularly immigration and extremism.

A week later at the Democratic convention, Hillary Clinton made not one reference to Syria.

The conflict in Syria remains a major conundrum for both President Barack Obama and Clinton, his former secretary of state. With a firm reluctance to enter another U.S. war in the Middle East, the United States has focused its military efforts on fighting the Islamic State group in northern Syria and in Iraq while pursuing so-far failed diplomatic efforts to end the civil war.