I think that President George W. Bush was ahead of most of his government, in realizing that Putin was not the person we thought he was.
Daniel FriedMy 40 years in the foreign service and the careers of many of my friends became associated with the fall of the Soviet Empire and the putting in order of what came after - the building of a Europe whole, free, and at peace. It`s hard to recall today how improbable victory in the Cold War appeared.
Daniel Fried