last few years, in the balkans. 30 is a pretty good number, but that does not mean we cannot have close partners, as was mentioned in your introduction, ukrainian troops deployed under my command as part of the nato mission to afghanistan. they were part of our efforts globally with nato. we can have partners who are not full members. i think that's a sensible construct. >> i have to believe that over the course of your career, you have been dialed in on putin and his personality. do you think he knows tonight what he's going to do? >> i think he does not. he is weighing everything. he will have listened carefully to president biden. he's a former kgb intelligence officer. he's trained to weigh all of the factors. but we ought to remember he can be reckless, and it's not just 2014 when he invaded ukraine, michael. in 2008, he invaded georgia. he's rolled those cosmic dice