A key piece of information in my assessment is for Western intel to understand why Putin appears "different". Does he have a terminal illness?

[shockedcanadian]

I assume some of this information would be kept close to the vest. However, if indeed he is suffering from a terminal illness, it might be wise to present this to the world and world leaders.

Humans who believe they have nothing to lose, will make entirely different decisions than those who do. This situation would be my biggest fear for the advent of WWIII or further Russian expansion.

 

[night_son]

I assume some of this information would be kept close to the vest. However, if indeed he is suffering from a terminal illness, it might be wise to present this to the world and world leaders.

Humans who believe they have nothing to lose, will make entirely different decisions than those who do. This situation would be my biggest fear for the advent of WWIII or further Russian expansion.

Hmm? Was George W. Bush suffering from terminal or mental illness when he ordered the invasions of Afghanistan and then Iraq a couple of years later? Our world today, all the people who live in it, are so obsessed with expecting the government to be God that they just can't imagine a fellow human being committing acts of violence for any valid reason. In their minds only government can be justified in using force. This is a pandemic of mass cowardice.

Putin can invade fucking Poland and still be completely sane and/or healthy, sound of mind and body. Same as Bush II could bomb the ever-living fuck out of multiple Iraqi cities and be hailed a hero. Everyone wants to act like there's something fundamentally wrong with invading another country. Newsflash: human beings have been fighting wars since time out of mind and will continue to fight them until they go extinct.

War is neither right nor wrong but what war is, is completely normal human behavior.

 

[shockedcanadian]

Hmm? Was George W. Bush suffering from terminal or mental illness when he ordered the invasions of Afghanistan and then Iraq a couple of years later? Our world today, all the people who live in it, are so obsessed with expecting the government to be God that they just can't imagine a fellow human being committing acts of violence for any valid reason. In their minds only government can be justified in using force. This is a pandemic of mass cowardice.

Putin can invade fucking Poland and still be completely sane and/or healthy, sound of mind and body. Same as Bush II could bomb the ever-living fuck out of multiple Iraqi cities and be hailed a hero. Everyone wants to act like there's something fundamentally wrong with invading another country. Newsflash: human beings have been fighting wars since time out of mind and will continue to fight them until they go extinct.

War is neither right nor wrong but what war is, is completely normal human behavior.

I didn't say he was suffering from an illness that drove him to engage in this invasion. It would be important information to know though and might provide an understanding of the potential risk to the world in the future.