Recall when Kissinger was desperate to get the North Vietnamese to ink a peace treaty ("peace with honour") he pitched the idea that Nixon was deranged and might even nuke Hanoi. Putin, however, might be after 22 years pulling the strings in one of the world's great kleptocracies. He came to power about the same time as Bush/Cheney.
The minds of autocrats, both past and present, are exceedingly difficult to discern, Mound. I think we will know the answer only if Putin decides to next go after a NATO country.
I think that Putin is the emperor without clothes . His nation is having difficulty sustaining itself militarily or economically. The demise of the USSR gave rise to the oligarchs who, I doubt, will relinquish their wealth and influence to the maniacal wanderings of Putin.
Recall when Kissinger was desperate to get the North Vietnamese to ink a peace treaty ("peace with honour") he pitched the idea that Nixon was deranged and might even nuke Hanoi. Putin, however, might be after 22 years pulling the strings in one of the world's great kleptocracies. He came to power about the same time as Bush/Cheney.
ReplyDeleteThe minds of autocrats, both past and present, are exceedingly difficult to discern, Mound. I think we will know the answer only if Putin decides to next go after a NATO country.
DeleteI think that Putin is the emperor without clothes .
ReplyDeleteHis nation is having difficulty sustaining itself militarily or economically.
The demise of the USSR gave rise to the oligarchs who, I doubt, will relinquish their wealth and influence to the maniacal wanderings of Putin.
TB
At this point, TB, a coup sounds like a good option, but if history teaches us anything, it is that it is full of surprises.
Delete