Quote Originally Posted by BrentWilliams View Post
Putin's goal isn't the issue. His policy goal has always been pretty clear. His methods are terrible. It is a lesson in how to maximaze damage to oneself. Whatever the result from this, Russia is still a weaker state once it is all done.
BW--again you miss the mark---what Putin has done starting a year or so before Crimea--he has implemented the new Russian military doctrine of UW in support to political warfare first in the Crimea which went rarely well for him and then in eastern and southern Ukraine which did not go so well.

Really reread the new eight phase doctrine and then come back and let me know exactly what phase he is in and you will see he is not stumbling and bumbling along.

Now the doctrine what I first called here as the Putin Doctrine and so commenters did not like it and now an accepted term has been written first in their own internal articles, then exercised and then implemented---so from his point of view he has been rather successful if you ask me.
The only way now to stop the Putin Doctrine from ever occurring again is in fact to stop it and if sanctions do not work then one steps up the leverage next being the supplying of weapons and heavy equipment and if that does not work then on to actual force.

Putin is his school interview basically stated he is going to expand the Putin doctrine to Kazahkstan--which pushed back immediately.

See right now the world only "hears" words from the US/NATO/EU but sees no "actions"---therein lies the big mistake for actions always speak louder than words.