..”like a civil war would be here now”....
Yes there were all once Soviets, but the newer generation doesn’t buy into that. Still they were all RUssians at one time..so not only do they know how each fights and about each other....Putin knows them too...unlike the West and Obama who are always trying to figure out why they do what they do and don’t behave like Americans! LOL
You know who could handle Putin, Bush....like butter in his hands was Putin..and Putin was glad to let it appear that way...he liked Bush for two reasons...One they understood each ones vocabulary well....two... Bush ‘respected’ Putin (with one eye open)and knew that was necessary to do business that they both wanted to do and accomplish. They spent time building trust and spoke in public favorably of one another even though we knew the cards they were playing. As long as their “friendship” endured we had peaceful times with Russia......
One thing is certain The people who run Obama have bull in china shop diplomacy. Their machinations create hate and havoc everywhere they meddle in. Including America. Criminals all of them.
You can BET Putin never said, “We talk with these people. We assume that they are decent. But he lies,”, during the Bush years....
Bush also had Condi Rice at his side. Rice is / was fallible for sure, but if I was the one tasked to deal with Russia, I’d be listening to Condi’s take.