omg.... this is just such a dreadfully poignant interview between Michael Isikoff and Daniel Hoffman, longtime CIA Russia expert.
Hoffman: All those things were Vladimir Putin playing chess with limited but achievable objectives. This one, Vladimir Putin has altered his risk calculus. He’s playing poker where he might not have the strongest hand.
Hoffman: "The No. 1 recurring question that President Biden is asking the intelligence community is, “Give me the leadership profile on Vladimir Putin. No, no, no, no, no. Not the one from February ’22. I need the one from today.” Because he’s not the same guy. There are all kinds of rumors about whatever might be wrong with him medically. Sen. Marco Rubio said that he had neuropsychological issues. Rubio sits on a Senate intel committee, wouldn’t go into detail about sources and methods, wouldn’t go into further detail about exactly what that means. But that’s a very important statement that he made. …...
And so what we might see are the Russian elites changing their assessment of Vladimir Putin."
Me: Will the Russian Elites really really have the guts to do this????
Putin is determined to 'burn down Ukraine's house,' former CIA operative says