Are We Really Depending On Putin These Days?

That would suck, cuz Putin often seems to be half in the bag most of the time.  That might just be the narrative we are using in the US and Europe, though.  Perhaps Putin really is a patriotic Russian nationalist as well as a freekin' political genius.  If that's true and as Pilger contends, Putin is all that is keeping Europe from war, we are well and truly through the feckin' looking glass, but thank the gods for Putin, I guess.