[Phalanx]

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2...ticle/0,28804,1690753_1690757_1690766,00.html

I dot agree with his Politics ,but i wish we had a leader like this as far as he puts his country first.
He has stated he would have nothing to discuss with Obama .

 

[Phalanx]

Re: Read this.

Read about this guy !! He is without a doubt the only no BS leader in the world today.
He has read and studied our American revolution ,or Constitution and he knows more about our founding fathers than most of our Congress today.
Clinton treated him like shit ,he tried to get a Union going with us several times only to be ignored for the sake of China.
This is not the Soviet Union People ,this is the Russian Republic , and he may just not trust your Government for the same reasons you dont.
This man can be very dangerous , he is popular and he believes in his Country and dosent let any Country come in and tell them what to do.
He is not a Communist or KGB so sorry get over it and believe what the Media tells you.
But i dont see a leader today that can even come up to Putins ankles , I have heard him speak and he believes in a Republic.
In fact he is the only Leader i have heard to tell the crowds that a Democracy isn't a Republic.

 

[Phalanx]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,404906,00.html
Look guys i am no fan of this guy , but if we want to do a media Knee jerk, lets at least look at the facts.
If we want to go up against Putin ,we damn sure better be ready to be in that for the long haul ,because he will be .

 

[MickeyC]

Putin was the ex head of the KGB under Gorbachov. He speaks several languages, including English fluently dispite not doing so in public. He is also a very, very smart and capable man. He is arguably one of the best leaders in position in the world today. Probably as smart as Mohammed in Dubai. When Bush was dodging the draft, Putin was running spies over the Berlin wall.

Unfortunately this also makes him dangerous to the west as he is unwilling to be bullied by the US and with the current oil price as well as a resurgent Russsian economy, he is able to build his military strength and basically do as he pleases to advance Russian interests much in the same way as the US has for several decades.

It would be a mistake to underestimate him.

 

[variablebinary]

I dont know if Putin is as savvy as we (the West) are inept.

Politically speaking, the Western free nations have been completely clueless in how to manage global political matters since the end of the cold war.

Putin has no real reason to be ultra concerned about what the west does. He knows it, as does Bush, and as a result Russia can operate with sheer impudence in their sphere of direct influence

The instant the Western world became slaves to globalization, political correctness, unfettered 3rd world immigration and Middle Eastern oil we lost whatever leverage we had to hold Russia in check. They've got plenty of strings to wag the dog. What do we have in return.