As I said in my post to Peach, I'm not disagreeing with either of your assessments of Iraq. They are truly barely hanging on, but they are on the right track. Russia, on the other hand, has been falsely portrayed, IMHO, as having a stable and successful government in the post Soviet era.
I think that the DBM has been handing us something and trying to convince us it was Shinola.
Oh...yes, from that standpoint, you are dead on.
I was shocked, really, when I saw that report, and now that you mentioned it...the segment ended with the reporter saying that the candidate (I forget his name) has had to hire bodyguards..(because of Putin)..
AND, that regardless of what HE does, it is accepted that Putin will "hand pick" his successor.
Hopefully, since he won't be leaving before 2008...this man or someone else will find a way to change that prediction.