Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   MM Date:   3/1/2022 9:13:06 AM

Yours below reminding me about the "minor incursion" kerfluffle was an excellent point.  Couple of ways Vlad could have looked at this.  One, Dementia Joe was signaling that we would not object to them invading Ukraine as long as it was a "minor" incursion....whatever that means.  Two, Dementia Joe is a senile old fool being run by incompetent leftists like Ron Klain and Susan Rice and this is a golden opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the leader of free world can't recall what he had for breakfast, had approval ratings in the 30's, inflation through the roof, a decimated domestic oil and gas industry making us dependent on foreign oil again, a stock market in decline, rampant crime, etc.  

If Putin believes the former then Marco Rubio is right that there is something wrong with him.  The reality is that Putin is in a precarious position.  He is a typical kleptocrat that has amassed massive wealth stored all over the west.  But he only keeps his ill-gotten goods if he stays in power.  Otherwise whoever replaces him will have him arrested for "corruption" so they can now be the owner of all his wealth.  He has imperial ambitions to at least return the Russian empire to greatness and maybe even assemble the USSR as a world power.  But he is beholden to the military and the oligarchs.  He can maybe afford to lose a certain number of either but not all of either or both.  If he loses them he loses power.  And if he loses power he loses his wealth and probably his life.  And if his mind is off and he starts to feel threatened he may become very unpredictable and more dangerous than ever.