This article kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There are a lot of “seems”, “sensing”, “rumor” and suggesting

 https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-putin-treated-cancer-april-us-intelligence-report-says-1710357

This article kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There are a lot of “seems”, “sensing”, “rumor” and suggesting so it’s tough to put a lot of faith in the idea that Putin is nearing the end of his leadership. The statement quoted in this article by a Ukraine Intelligence official is the most reliable source.

Even though this idea is interesting and may bring some comfort to Ukraine. The world and the Biden administration cannot plan on a soon “expiration date” of Putin. We should have learned that lesson already. Also who is to say that the next Russian “President” won’t have similar ambitions?  Compared to the weak, frail and cognitively failing Biden, everything I’ve seen makes Putin look like a rock star.

I disagree with the authors about the long tables in Russia. This article states that the long table “became a baseline against which to measure the Russian president's decline”. Putin has always sat at the head of large tables. The article also references a meeting on April 21st. I would encourage you to watch the video and make your own opinion. It’s difficult to tell if Putin is ill based off of possibly slouching and gripping the table with one hand. Personally I’ve yet to see or read anything convincing that shows decline in Putin’s health. I wonder if these same intelligence officials conducted a study on Biden.

Reports on Osama bin Laden’s health might have influenced the U.S. decision making before and after 9/11. We can’t allow that to happen here.

Direct Quotes

The classified U.S. report says Putin seems to have re-emerged after undergoing treatment in April for advanced cancer, three U.S. intelligence leaders who have read the reports tell Newsweek.

The assessments also confirm that there was an assassination attempt on Putin's life in March, the officials say.

"Putin's grip is strong but no longer absolute," says one of the senior intelligence officers with direct access to the reports. "The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near."

All three officials—one from the office of the Director of National Intelligence, one a retired Air Force senior officer, and one from the Defense Intelligence Agency—caution that the Russian leader's isolation makes it more difficult for U.S. intelligence to precisely assess Putin's status and health.

"We need to be mindful of the influence of wishful thinking," cautions the retired Air Force leader. "We learned—or didn't learn—that lesson the hard way with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein."

Then came the very long table that Putin used in the Kremlin to record the photo ops of his important meetings, one that came to symbolize his paranoia and physical fear.

The table most recently was the venue for Putin's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 7, just two weeks before the Ukraine invasion. For the intelligence community, the long table and Putin's behavior with Macron became a baseline against which to measure the Russian president's decline.

he was far from a picture of health, slouching in his chair and gripping the table with his right hand.

Three days later, Ukraine's head of intelligence Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told U.K. Sky News that Putin was in a "very bad psychological and physical condition and he is very sick," adding that there were plans inside the Kremlin to overthrow the Russian leader.

A rumor that Kremlin security people had uncovered a Russian plot to assassinate Putin was confirmed at this time.

In Osama bin Laden's case, before and after 9/11, it was whether he was dying, probably from kidney disease, and how that might influence his decisions.

The most persistent rumor was that bin Laden was weak and fragile, requiring regular dialysis that was unlikely to be available in a cave.

"Is Putin sick? Absolutely. But we shouldn't let waiting for his death drive proactive actions on our part. A power vacuum after Putin could be very dangerous for the world."

#USA #TheChubbyCaucasianChristianClosetedConservative #Russia #Biden #Putin