Colleen W Burroughs

11. A standard idea is that Putin is rational and that the problem is that he is poorly informed. Think of Hitler! Would anybody today claim that his problem was that he was poorly informed? No, Hitler was as mad as Putin. Don't try to talk sense to Putin! Isolate him!

10. As Fiona Hill has written, the risk that Putin will use nuclear arms is real, but that risk will not diminish but rather increase over time.

8. The West should have armed Ukraine far more since 2014. Then, putin might not have dared to attack. 9. Exactly as in World War II, the US needs to think of how it wants to enter this World War III rather than hope for de-escalation or even worse trying to avoid "provocations."

5. Exactly as with Hitler, the war will only end when Putin is defeated, ousted or dead. 6. It is really all about Putin, not about neo-imperialism, Russian nationalism or even the KGB. 7. Given what Russia does, the West/US/NATO can hardly avoid getting into this war.

3. This is an all-out war. Putin will not stop or de-escalate. He will escalate & proceed until he is stopped by someone at home or abroad. 4. If Putin succeeds in succumbing Ukraine (which I don't think), he would proceed to other countries, perhaps in Africa or Europe.

How to understand Putin's war in Ukraine. 1. It is not about Nato, EU, USSR or even Ukraine. Putin needs a war to justify his rule & his swiftly increasing domestic repression. 2. Putin is today's Hitler & 24 Feb 2022 should be seen as 1 Sep 1939. Ukraine is Putin's Poland.