That is a pretty one-sided commentary. Yes Putin has lied and will do so in the future. But what have western leaders done in the meantime. What about Iraq when the US leadership lied blatantly to the world without blinking either. Colin Powell showed us photos of mobile anthrax production labs, equipment for nuclear bomb material production and so on... Does that make them a dishonest clique that should be isolated from world affairs and marked as outcasts for breaking the rules of current international order (the rules are clear, a country can legally attack another one only in self-defense or under a clear UN mandate stemming from a Security Council resolution). The truth is that Putin wants to do, and is doing, only what he sees western leaders do so often, break the rules when their interest necessitate it and demand complete abidance by those same rules when it fits their goals. Let us not forget the Libyan affair either, where the agreed upon rules of engagement morphed from limited intervention to an outright regime change. You say that the annexation of Crimea executed by Putin is a dire and direct challenge to the existing world order, but in that case what about Kosovo? Let us also examine the probable results of these actions and the gravity of their potential consequences:

1) Large scale conflict and redraw of European borders is unlikely to be triggered by Putin’s actions, aside from few cases where newly independent countries were formed as a direct result of the collapse of the Soviet Union (YES Ukraine is a newly formed country, just like Georgia, Kazakhstan, former Yugo republics….. so it is logical their borders will probably adjust here and there before things settle). The borders in Europe are stable and have been so for some time, and the interconnectedness fostered by EU integration makes unilateral moves unlikely and prohibitively costly to anyone who might dare to do so.

2) On the other hand the US led intervention in Iraq has created the potential of upending the entire geopolitical structure that has existed in the Middle East since WWII. An Islamic Caliphate is being created in front of our eyes borders are effectively being erased and we are perhaps on the verge of large scale sectarian conflict that can potentially engulf the entire Middle East, with disastrous consequences for worldwide security and economy (the Arab states are still the primary supplier of hidrocarbons needed to power the world economy)

I work in finance and we have a simple rule a number by itself means nothing unless you can compare it to a similar data. Your analysis of Putin’s action is just as worthless unless you compare it to the actions of western leaders (US, UK primarily), and when you do so you will see a picture emerging that deviates significantly from the black and white canvas that you drew in your article.

An analyst, practitioner, politician and intellectual from your caliber should not produce such shoddy articles.

BR.