Yup. I truly believe Trump and Putin will develop a mutual respect for each other even though their positions are adversarial.
I agree. A competitor is not necessarily your enemy. Sometimes you can watch each other and learn a thing or two.
I recall reading that Gorbachev and the other Soviet leaders respected Reagan because his word was good. With Carter, they never knew where they stood from one week to the next.
Putin is an SOB but he’s an SOB for Mother Russia. If he wants to engage in military adventures in the Middle East, let him. After all, look how well it’s worked out for us.
He has an excellent chance of punching the Tar Baby for a long, long time, just like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Of course, the only good Moslem is a dead Moslem, so the more trouble Putin stirs up the better, just as long as we’re not involved.
All we should care about is oil and helping Israel. Otherwise, Vlady can have the entire region if he wants it — after all, Russia is hurting for money and he has to sell the petroleum on the open market.