I wouldn't cry if Vladimir Putin died of a bowel obstruction.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

At the expense of sounding gauche: He seems to be the Ray Rice of geopolitics. Overly muscled self-entitled prick who's into punch smaller, physically weaker people to protect his self-indulgent and narcissistic image of manliness.

[Scuba]

1. Diagnosis: Impacted feces.

[Turbineguy]

2. Hammered

shit.

[Nye Bevan]

3. But Russia Today and Counterpunch say that he's a nice guy!

Always two sides to every story.

[riqster]

4. "I hate him so little, why, I'd be honored to sing at his funeral mass."

An old line from Dumas. One of my favorite left-handed compliments.

[CJCRANE]

5. So he's a mirror image of us

considering that we ganged up with other countries to topple Saddam, Gaddafi and Assad, three leaders from countries which never threatened us.

[HereSince1628]

7. He's more like us than we are comfortable with...

He's expressing what to me looks rather like a not so deeply repressed "Cheney".

[CJCRANE]

8. But we also act like this is happening in a vacuum.

How many times does the rest of the world have to see us wine and dine dictators then turn against them and topple them, based on trumped up charges, before they catch on?

[HereSince1628]

10. As a nation, moving into opposition with Putin, we only emphasize his demon

and overlook our own.

Russian geopolitical world view isn't our view of a modern global economy. They think of the world as it has historically been, with divided spheres of influence, a world in which geopolitical influence is apportioned between the powerful.

IMO, it's a view which we would likely share if our oligarchs didn't believe they can dominate, if not outright control, a dreamed of global economic empire.

[leftstreet]

19. The United States of Boeing, BP, Citibank, GE, Ford, KFC

Excellent point

[840high]

12. Yep

[Nuclear Unicorn]

13. Ah yes, the ol' "Obama is just like Putin" non-answer.

And of course, the American people who elected Obama twice are the moral equivalent of the Russian nationalists cheering Putin's empire-building.

What I find curious is the argument of, "America did X and X is bad so when Putin does X he is to be given free rein." One might as well seek to silence alcoholics who warn against over-indulgence.

[CJCRANE]

16. It's not that simple, and it's not about Obama.

We have a whole bunch of countries in NATO (and their allies) working to an agenda to topple leaders of sovereign nations like Libya and Syria using whatever justification they can come up with.

America's recent history of intervention under Bush-Cheney doesn't help either.

As a result western leaders aren't seen as honest brokers, or as acting in good faith, by the rest of the world.

[SidDithers]

6. The putinistas at DU ain't gonna like this thread...nt

Sid

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. Hey now. I was nice and left out the fact that bowel obstructions are agonizing.

Oh, wait.

[geek tragedy]

18. Assholes object to bowel obstruction nt

[newfie11]

9. The next guy maybe worse nt

[kairos12]

11. I wouldn't mind if his swan song was "Putin on the Ritzy Gallows."

[LeftishBrit]

15. Won't happen; if the lifelong location of his head hasn't killed him yet, it won't do so now!

[rock]

17. And if it turned out to be george w bush* that would be OK too

Yes, I'm talking about the bowel obstruction.