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Originally Posted by UtahDan
I have two thoughts on Putin. The first is that this is almost 100% posturing. Where as we actually have the ability to do the things we talk about, he can do little more than posture. Russia has not cured the problems that made them a third world economy when the were the USSR.
Second, however, is that Putin is an old KGB guy and so my guess is that he clings to delusions of old Soviet granduer. This might make him a little dangerous. Recall that before the Soviet Union fell that no one really saw that coming. Yes everyone understood that it was collapsing in on itself and that it was impoverished, but much of the prevailing wisdom was that this would cause it to act more and more desperate and more like a cornered animal. Had the leader at the time been someone other than Gorbachev, things might have unfolded much differently.
Putin is a thug and he is going to beat his chest, but I ultimately see Russia not very threatening. Militant Islam and communist China and much bigger issues in the world. Chinese power is on the rise and they must be contended with, Islam is taking Europe over by attrition. I'm not worried much about Putin. In the end, what is he REALLY going to do. Nuke Europe or the US?
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All true about Putin's posturing. But there is something else about this that is a little disconcerting for me. Naturally Iran and others pose a threat and I'm not discounting that. However, Europe should defend themselves and they don't really want this either. Why continue to pay for their defense? The other thing is that Bush probably wants this in place now so that we can more conveniently go to war with Iran and stage air strikes from E. Europe with that defense system already in place. For the neocons I guess this isn't a problem as they seem to want to expand the Iraq war and maybe even go after N. Korea.