by Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Craig Roberts:

I am more convinced than ever that we are headed for nuclear Armageddon

As readers know, I admire Russian President Putin, but the reasons I admire him make him a failed war leader.

Putin is a product of an old conception of foreign affairs as a rational enterprise conducted by gentlemen who relied on agreement rather than on the imposition of power. Consequently, when faced with non-gentlemen, Putin finds he played his cards wrong and lacks power.