So why then do you seem to keep trying to make excuses for Putin?
A realistic appraisal isn't an excuse. Putin is what he is and he puts Russia first, not conquest, not expansion, not destruction of the US, not confrontation with the US or Europe. That can work in our favor or we can be stupid and beat the table with our little shoe and pretend he's the incarnation of Satan.
And if he is, how the Hell does being realistic about our goals and his compare to our being cozy allies with Stalin's Soviet Union ?
We could have left Stalin to sink or swim on his own and shed more blood in Europe ourselves but we did the smart thing and made a deal with the Devil. Now we should be stupid and shed as much blood and treasure as possible because some people don't like Putin and aren't bright enough to read anything that doesn't agree with their preconceptions?