We live in interesting times. Putin is a no-good SOB, but his popularity ratings in the US are still higher than Obama's.

Fools Russian The Proof Is In The Putin 455

Thnks guys! Putin as bad as he is still does not want to revive the USSR; instead, he seeks a more modern Greater Russia to challenge NATO and restore Russia's military back to Superpower status. To this end he is willing to play diplomatic games with the West and compromise a little, but still cheats on nuclear weapon reductions and also is rebuilding Russia's armed forces as funds become available through energy supply lines to Europe. Russia has state-of-the-art aircraft, missile systems, heavy firepower, lots of upgraded armor, excellent firearms, and better training than in the old days of 5 yr plans. However, the crisis in E Ukraine is really not his fault b/c it is internal. If the ethnic Russians there want to be annexed or form new pro-Russian republics in the East, then Kiev will have to deal with that. Western nations supply Ukriane with weapons and play games with Putin over NATO membership while encroaching militarily to within Russia's borders which is intolerable for any Russian leader. So Putin supplies the rebels with whatever it takes to push Ukrainian forces back on land and in the air. It is unfortunate that the airliner was hit by the BuK but no way to identify the high-flying target. Separatists got training and had shot down many aircraft and rotorcraft before and after the MH17 disaster. Putin did not order a civvy airliner shot down and if there were any real controversy could had ordered the separatists to send the black boxes to Moscow. Russia could at anytime cross the border in force to push back Ukrainian forces or even secure the crash site... but it won't do that for the West that Putin views from the Russian POV as imperialist aggressors. That's not really our problem. Obama would be foolish to declare war on Russia when losing against Islamic insurgents/Taliban/Iranian fighters/ISIS in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya and failing to hit Syria over Sarin use, even after Assad crossed that Red Line defiantly. Sad, but true. With downsizing and sequestration the US Armed Forces are being castrated from within.