the old soviet union you never knew exactly what the old soviet union was going to do but they were actually more conservative with a small c than a man like vladimir putin who didn t have a bureau to worry about. not like the soviet union of the 60s and 70s where internal power struggles. there is vladimir putin. doesn t it make it much harder for the intel community and, in fact, the president of the united states to determine what to do next? the hardest thing in intelligence is read intentions and that is especially true when it s the intentions of effectively one person, vladimir putin. he has proved himself more of a risk taker than some in the pentagon and some in the state department expected in his move into crimea. it was very professionally organized and it s striking how little loss of life there s been. this was done really as a covert action, a black operation by their forces, not as a military attack. i just have come back from spending the weekend in europe