I am astonished at the number of my neighbors here in Germany who find tortured ways of defending Putin. The damage to American influence in Europe caused by the Iraq war seems to never end. That damage is compounded daily by the pathetic image of an ineffectual president bungling every international question to which his country is exposed. Obama has become a laughingstock in Germany, at least at the man on the street level.
The Germans much like the Hungarians are severely constrained from breaking away from the American nuclear umbrella by the fact that they have no bomb of their own. The more Putin reveals himself to be a KGB thug, the less Germans will be likely to submit themselves to his tender mercies. This is not necessarily true of France which historically seeks ways to piss allies off and Great Britain which is always understandably sought to play a collection of states against the European superpower because both of these nations have the bomb.
But make no mistake, Europe is full of leftists and there is always the Islam card, indeed a wildcard, which might make common cause with Putin and seek to deliver Europe to him.
It is unlikely, but an alliance of Germany, Russia, China would be catastrophic.
