The Pentagon does not want to atagnoise Russia, the "Former" USSR, or China right now.
I think you are very right...
and, regardless what some think of Condi..and her politics, she is an expert in Russian history and political history..so she is, I am sure, storing a lot of information NOT for public consumption.
Good observation.
"The Pentagon does not want to atagnoise Russia, the "Former" USSR, or China right now."
Then they are playing the fool, in my opinion. An opponent does you wrong and you don't want to talk about it for fear of antagonizing them? It's called being bullied.