Vladimir Putin is putting up spectacular aggressive displays these days, making near-miss air attacks on our recon planes, expanding his military bases in Syria and Iran, and probably helping the Yemeni Houthis launch cruise missiles perilously close to  our naval vessels in the Straits of Hormuz.  Putin is strategic in his thinking, and a lot of his anti-American posing is phony, simply because the West poses no genuine threat to Mother Russia.  Certainly not compared to jihad.  The question is, therefore, why Putin is stirring up the biggest post-Soviet fuss ever.  What does he stand to gain from Western scare headlines?  Russia is not interested in nuclear confrontations, where everybody loses and nobody wins.  Instead, he is putting on his war dance to gain Obama concessions that most Americans may never see, like tactical retreats by U.S. forces in the Gulf, oil price concessions from the Saudis, and a free hand against Chechen ISIS...(Read Full Article)