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I believe that Vladimir Putin calculated that, through his unwitting (witless?) agent Donald Trump, he had divided and weakened the US and NATO to the point where he could begin to re-assemble the Soviet Union and no one could stop him.

Not only was Putin wrong, his misadventure into Ukraine has undone the real damage to the US and NATO body politic done by the former president. There is determined unity across the US/NATO political spectrum except of course for the hapless US Republican Party who, having long ago abandoned any kind of platform, have, at this point, nothing to stand on.

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But will Putin listen?

Putin has put himself into a position where he has no face-saving way to back out. That makes him very dangerous.

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Hi Ralph. Not sure - Erdogan isn't exactly part of the Western European coalition, is he? I wonder - is this just Putin, or is it also the old guard contingent that uses him and his ego to front for their agenda? Fiona Hill says those people are the ones Putin has to worry about ... who really runs this show?

And I wonder if you know ... what would we find if we looked a few hundred feet under the Kremlin? It feels to me like the docking station for the "mother ship" ... is that too far-fetched?

“He’s Not The Superman We Think Of” - Fiona Hill On Vladimir Putin

https://www.facebook.com/colbertlateshow/videos/hes-not-the-superman-we-think-of-fiona-hill-on-vladimir-putin/4896504940463275/

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Hello, Kathleen.

Every space alien I know has assured me that Putin is an Earth-born homo sapien who, like many other humans of his character, placed too much faith in his own judgement.

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☺️😊☺️ ... so then, he must have an Achilles heel - somewhere in his gut ... or some piece within that would welcome release from the prison of static, stubborn pride ... maybe Erdogan can get through to him ... I have a feeling none of these challenges are about one person only ....

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... and, if there is a child heart still beating in Putin, Erdogan would be like a father figure - the foundation of love and respect could unlock the door to peace more than sanctions and opposition ever could ....

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Ralph, so very true and well-put, as usual. Thanks!

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