Posted on 08/14/2008 1:38:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
THE Russians are alcohol-sodden barbarians, but now and then they vomit up a genius.
Prime Minister - and now generalissimo - Vladimir Putin is Mother Russia's latest world-class wonder.
Let's be honest: Putin's the most effective leader in the world today.
That doesn't mean he's good news for anybody - not even for the Russians, in the long run. His ruthless ambition and gambler's audacity may end terribly.
But, for now, give the devil his due: After a long string of successes, from his personal mastery of Russia's government and media to his coldblooded energy brinkmanship, Putin has capped his performance with a stunning success in Georgia.
Not a single free-world leader currently in office can measure up to Czar Vladimir the Great.
Following his turnaround of Russia from bankrupt kleptocracy to flush-with-cash autocracy, he's now openly determined to restore Moscow's old empire.
And he's getting away with it.
As a former intelligence officer, I'm awestruck by the genius with which Putin assessed the strategic environment on the eve of his carefully scripted invasion of Georgia.
With his old KGB skills showing (he must've been a formidable operative), Putin not only sized up President Bush humiliatingly well, but precisely anticipated Europe's nonreaction - while taking a perfect-fit measure of Georgia's mercurial president.
Putin not only knew what he was doing - he knew exactly what others would do.
This is intelligence work at the hall-of-fame level. (For our part, we had all the intelligence pieces in our hands and failed to assemble the puzzle.)
On the military side, the months of meticulous planning and extensive preparations for this invasion were covered by military exercises, disingenuous explanations - and maskirovka, the art of deception the Red Army had mastered. The Russians convinced us to see what we wanted to see.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Thanks!
LLS
Some of us are working to reverse that trend. I pray quite a bit.
LLS
If it succeeds, then that's "a distinction without a difference".
One of Napoleon's favorite sayings was "L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace!" (Audacity, audacity, always audacity!)
As history shows, the death and destruction he wrought before he could be finally brought down was immense, and all with relatively primitive weaponry and technology by today's standards.
Bush would have been called an economic hero if he had opened drilling in ANWR.
Why doesn’t this surprise me (that being a former Intel officer finding himself awestruck).
I like Peters, regarding much, but he is spouting alot of hyperbole nonsense in this one.......(just as he was 2 years back saying Iraq was lost)....
His behavior makes me think of Vlad the Inhaler...
I smell a future Time Man of the Year issue coming on....
Ouch is right.
Will Obama have coffee with Putin? He will be squished like a bug and we will go down under him.
I believe that was Bill Clinton's name for him when he took his college trip to Moscow.
Apparently they were long time fiends..
You are over reacting as I am not a Bush basher. First of all the Dems were the ones not voting for ANWR not Bush and the Rep. Secondly, he would have been seen as a hero in view of current events. This is just a statement :) Have a good day, my friend.
Good post.
No, I didn’t mean you specifically. I know where you’re at.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.