For all of his tactical military strength, Putin is now operating from a position of strategic weakness. The bitter ironies for him abound. Almost the entire international community stands against him, creating the exact Western unity he has spent two decades trying to undermine. He has reinvigorated--even saved-- NATO,  which just two years ago looked obsolete. We're likely to see permanent U.S. troop deployments in Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states--exactly the outcome Putin says he is trying to prevent. And from the start, Ukraine has put up stiffer resistance than Putin expected, inspiring the world with its plucky David vs. Goliath story.

Even after Putin prevails militarily, forcibly removes Volodymyr Zelensky as president and installs a new puppet in Kyiv (Ukranian-preferred spelling), his problems will be just beginning. Unlike reformers in many former Soviet states, the Ukrainians have experience dispatching puppets, as they did in 2014 during the peaceful [WTF?!!] Maidan Revolution.

These people been reading stories by Anne Applebaum, Radek Sikorski, et al. America doesn't deserve better than Donald Trump and Republican Tea Party delegates to preserve Freedom and Democracy at home. Idiots.

We have rewritten history ... the violent neo-Nazi Maidan Revolt with one hundred citizens sacrificed on the altar of revolt will be honored as heroes of the Revolt of Dignity.

'Sapere aude'