He has always seemed quite sharp, clear-headed, and rational in interviews and in discussions, so I'm skeptical that he has suddenly lost his marbles sometime in the last few months.

Rather, I think he has, over the years, developed a deep distrust of the West and NATO, and has concluded that the West's influence on Ukraine will continue to grow unless he takes military action.

He believes that the longer he waits to take action, the harder it will be for Russia to "win". With each passing year, Ukraine becomes more westernized, and also becomes stronger militarily. Projecting out 5 to 10 years, he may envision a situation in which Ukraine does indeed join NATO, with "defensive" weapon systems that could potentially serve offensive purposes.

Based on these beliefs, he my have reasoned that military action is necessary. Of course, a crazy person could have reached a similar decision, but based on an irrational thought process.

Anonymous wrote:When Trump hosted Xi at Mar-a-Lago, during dessert, he leaned over and said “By the way, we just dropped 59 Tomahawk missiles on Syria for using chemical weapons on his own people. I just want you to know that”

You now know why it’s good that evil world leaders think they can’t predict the US President’s actions.

Are you this dull, really? Trump pulled us out of Syria, abandoning our allies and leaving them for dead, in order to leave our military installations for Putin to use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Agreed. Also, it does not matter if he is crazy or not in whatever definition we’d like to use. He’ll continue to do what he does until someone stops him. Is labeling him crazy some sort of plea for empathy? Sorry, he gets none from me. Whether he’s a mean dog or a rabid dog, put the man down. Now.

This.

The world should have offed Hitler. Don't tell me they couldn't-I don't buy it. Putin is posing a very dangerous threat to the world, and he needs to go.

It’s not just Putin. Russia is filled with guys who think like him. We really have to just contain them until the current generation of aggrieved losers running the country finally die out.

I’d add that we should do whatever we can to help expedite that process before they have a chance to train up their heirs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Agreed. Also, it does not matter if he is crazy or not in whatever definition we’d like to use. He’ll continue to do what he does until someone stops him. Is labeling him crazy some sort of plea for empathy? Sorry, he gets none from me. Whether he’s a mean dog or a rabid dog, put the man down. Now.

This.

The world should have offed Hitler. Don't tell me they couldn't-I don't buy it. Putin is posing a very dangerous threat to the world, and he needs to go.

It’s not just Putin. Russia is filled with guys who think like him. We really have to just contain them until the current generation of aggrieved losers running the country finally die out.

Anonymous wrote:
Agreed. Also, it does not matter if he is crazy or not in whatever definition we’d like to use. He’ll continue to do what he does until someone stops him. Is labeling him crazy some sort of plea for empathy? Sorry, he gets none from me. Whether he’s a mean dog or a rabid dog, put the man down. Now.

This.

The world should have offed Hitler. Don't tell me they couldn't-I don't buy it. Putin is posing a very dangerous threat to the world, and he needs to go.

Anonymous wrote:When Trump hosted Xi at Mar-a-Lago, during dessert, he leaned over and said “By the way, we just dropped 59 Tomahawk missiles on Syria for using chemical weapons on his own people. I just want you to know that”

You now know why it’s good that evil world leaders think they can’t predict the US President’s actions.

How is that unpredictable? That’s a pretty standard reaction for the US. Obama did air strikes in Syria too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither. If you look back at his illustrious career from bombing residential buildings across Russia, the Chechen war, all the meddling in Europe, wars in Georgia & Ukraine, and lending a hand in other conflicts, he's neither crazy nor senile. He's continuing with his modus operandi but is being more arrogant about it from all the wealth he amassed and his "success". He feels he can whatever. Is that madness? May be. But the modus operandi is the same it's been the past 30 years.

+1. I don't think he is crazy at all. His maneuvers make complete sense if you look at things from his perspective. Google "The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia".

Agreed. Also, it does not matter if he is crazy or not in whatever definition we’d like to use. He’ll continue to do what he does until someone stops him. Is labeling him crazy some sort of plea for empathy? Sorry, he gets none from me. Whether he’s a mean dog or a rabid dog, put the man down. Now.

Anonymous wrote:LOL @ comparing Putin to Trump. Crazy is sending blankets in 2014. Crazy is stopping Keystone and relying on Russia for oil. Was it crazy that 45 neutralized Russia in Syria when an air strike killed 100 soldiers who were doing bad things in 2017?

Relying on Russian oil falls under the delusional category.

Putin is cornered. He lost Trump and Biden's proven effective at uniting our allies and engaging with NATO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think he is insane. I think he is flexing his muscle and putting the rest of the world on notice. His strategy is somewhat interesting and not stupid - not that I agree with what he is doing. He gave ample warning. There is nothing insane about his actions. We may not agree and it may be a complete travesty but it doesn't make him insane.

He could have an insane long game.

Insane doesn’t automatically mean short-term & spontaneous.

What kind of game was Bush playing? In the Middle East? The short or the insane long game?

Long-term family hobby.

When Trump hosted Xi at Mar-a-Lago, during dessert, he leaned over and said “By the way, we just dropped 59 Tomahawk missiles on Syria for using chemical weapons on his own people. I just want you to know that”

You now know why it’s good that evil world leaders think they can’t predict the US President’s actions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think he is insane. I think he is flexing his muscle and putting the rest of the world on notice. His strategy is somewhat interesting and not stupid - not that I agree with what he is doing. He gave ample warning. There is nothing insane about his actions. We may not agree and it may be a complete travesty but it doesn't make him insane.

He could have an insane long game.

Insane doesn’t automatically mean short-term & spontaneous.

What kind of game was Bush playing? In the Middle East? The short or the insane long game?

LOL @ comparing Putin to Trump. Crazy is sending blankets in 2014. Crazy is stopping Keystone and relying on Russia for oil. Was it crazy that 45 neutralized Russia in Syria when an air strike killed 100 soldiers who were doing bad things in 2017?

Anonymous wrote:I don't think he is insane. I think he is flexing his muscle and putting the rest of the world on notice. His strategy is somewhat interesting and not stupid - not that I agree with what he is doing. He gave ample warning. There is nothing insane about his actions. We may not agree and it may be a complete travesty but it doesn't make him insane.

He could have an insane long game.

Insane doesn’t automatically mean short-term & spontaneous.

I don't think he is insane. I think he is flexing his muscle and putting the rest of the world on notice. His strategy is somewhat interesting and not stupid - not that I agree with what he is doing. He gave ample warning. There is nothing insane about his actions. We may not agree and it may be a complete travesty but it doesn't make him insane.