> Russian military/intelligence capabilities are obviously fairly formidable. I believe we should recognize this regardless of how much their citizens drink. T

> Russian military/intelligence capabilities are obviously fairly formidable. I believe we should recognize this regardless of how much their citizens drink. True. But we should keep the overall geopolitical context in mind as we formulate policy. Russia/USSR having a formidable military/intel apparatus is not remotely the same threat when they no longer have the ability to be competitive in the "life is better under our system" debate. I think it would be a mistake to further dial up tensions with them based solely on a notional "black ops gap".