Putin’s relationship with NATO possesses the essential characteristics of a pathological psychosis. He is so profoundly shaped by a narrative of fear and insecurity that he can not imagine (or influence) a world without it. He has in effect done everything in his power to ensure the continuity of the “threat” as reflexive self-validation for his own shambling political tin can as emulation of a Soviet-era ideology and kleptocracy. The strange game he plays generates geopolitical turbulence and uncertainty sufficient to maintain political tenure and continue to siphon off state resources into his own little empire.
As a new iron curtain descends, be certain of one thing: Putin is no mastermind, he is just another fragile little human being as prone to error and misunderstanding as the rest of us. What does make him different to many if not most of us is that he just does not care how many people he has to crush to stay in power. His own people will suffer as much as any of us and the sooner they find a way to forever lock him away in a deep dark dungeon, the better the world will be for everyone. As is, he has now set up the foundation for a deep and enduring intergenerational trauma and self-propagating weather system of violence, fear and inter-state retribution. There is absolutely nothing clever about that.
Daedelus Kite 