RUSSIA'S THREAT TO THE WORLD

As Vladimir Putin begins a fifth term as the nation's president, how safe are other countries from the Kremlin leader?

- REBEKAH KOFFLER

THE PRIMARY REASON FOR CONtinuing to flow billions of dollars in cash and weaponry to Ukraine, for what is clearly becoming another Afghanistan, is that if we don't, Vladimir Putin will march through Europe, invading a NATO country such as Poland or the Balkans. In this case, the U.S. would have to deploy armed forces to fight off the Russians to defend the Europeans. These are the talking points that the Washington Establishment politicians and their fellow commentariat members in the media have been using to convince the American people to continue parting with their hard-earned money. Even Speaker Mike Johnson, who as a rank-and-file right-wing congressman opposed the funding of Ukraine's war effort, recently signed off on another massive foreign aid package, $95 billion worth, the bulk of which is designated for Kyiv.

"I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed," said Johnson, justifying the spending of another $61 billion on what serious analysts assess as a unwinnable war. "I think he might go to the Balkans next. I think he might have a showdown with Poland or one of our NATO allies," asserted Johnson. But is it true?

Evidence indicates that this justification for depleting [the] U.S. Treasury and weapons arsenal represents a lack of understanding of Putin's thinking and Russia's security strategy-and the incompetence of our national security apparatus. At worst, it is a lie fed to the American people for some other reason.

Here's why Putin is highly unlikely to invade a NATO nation:

Many in the West view Putin as a reckless dictator with imperial ambitions. As someone who spent her intelligence career studying and analyzing Putin's thinking and Russia's war-fighting doctrine and security strategy, I'm here to tell that while Putin is a typical Russian dictator, he is entirely rational.