[canuck_conservative]

And how were you able to read putins mind to know what his motivation is??

simple, because "our actions reveal ourselves"

if you want to know about anyone, study their actions (and non-actions when there should be actions) ... works for people as well as countries

it's the same technique cops use for uncooperative or lying suspects - study the actions and ignore the words

because "actions are expensive and talk is cheap"

(read up on your Sherlock Holmes ...)

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[aMorePerfectUnion]

So if I listed 5 possible motivations of Putin in not firing all his missiles immediately, how would you read his mind to know which is his actual reason.

At this point, you are choosing your preferred explanation without proof.