The headline blasted out last Thursday.

'Stone says Bush has 'set America back 10 years''

Film Oliver Stone has an indisputable colorful past with an impressive portfolio of accomplishments in film and an admirable list of experiences — the least of which is certainly not his military service in wartime for his country.

'I've been to war, and it's not easy to kill. It's bloody and messy and totally horrifying, and the consequences are serious.' [source]

It stands to reason that what he has to say deals directly with his personal experiences and not some carefully calculated appeasement to a media moment — sometimes at least.

In recent months, many have wondered at the filmmaker's surprising handling of the subject for his latest film,