And is America's major ally in Iraq.
At most he is a regional dicator of a local power with ambitions near his borders but not beyond them - or are you saying Putin goes on to re-spread Red revolution around the world like the USSR did?
For a country like America, the best case is to treat Putin types and Iran types as friendly and be effusive but watch them like hawks and prepare for the worst while expecting the worst. A superpower cannot relax their vigilance. They must scrutinise everyone and their contingency plans should be thorough even if it borders on the ludicrous (*ie British marines occupying NY).
At least you are not like Luis Gonzales and CWO Jackson -preaching that Putin really is a communist about to return the USSR and the Red Revoluton onto the world scene and the fall of the USSR was really a KGB trick - or are you? :)