He was a Lt. Colonel in the KGB when the USSR fell. No where close to being the head of it.
Well, yes and no:
On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin head of the FSB (one of the successor agencies to the KGB), the position Putin occupied until August 1999. He became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on 1 October 1998 and its Secretary on 29 March 1999.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin
Putin was a Lt. Colonel in the KGB.
Obama was a community organizer with Acorn.
Putin is a Russian with his country’s interests at heart.
barry is in this for himself.
Putin is not to be honored, but he does command respect.
barry not so much on either count.
Putin is playing geopolitical chess.
Obama is trying to squash internal political enemies and destroy this country.
Putin has earned his stripes.
barry was given his stripes.
what else?