NATO, looking through rose-colored glasses, sees Putin losing: He started out by trying to weaken or intimidate NATO, but NATO (and much of the rest of the world) united against him. Brave and capable Ukranians have tarnished his armed forces' lofty reputation; sanctions are wrecking his economy, and his people are demonstrating in Moscow's streets against him.

Take off rose-colored glasses: Putin is winning. He will stop at nothing to crush Ukraine, no matter how much destruction he causes, and no matter how many Ukrainians--and Russian soldiers--die. The oligarchs and the common folks in Russia aren't going to unite to force him out--Russian "democracy" is a millimeter thin, and Russians love "strongmen"--they loved Stalin, they love him. Sanctions took their best shot against Putin, and he's still standing. And, Putin is defining how NATO responds to him: no "No Fly" zone, no Polish MIGs for Ukraine-- for fear of "provoking" him--as if he's not provoked now. He's not worried about a war of attrition because, as Napoleon said, "God is on the side of the big battalions."

There's a grim reality: NATO is weak, and can't afford a war against Russia. Only Britain and Germany have capable armed forces; the other NATO "partners" have spent so little on national defense that they can't even combat domestic terrorism. Putin knows that, NATO knows that. Ukraine is not a NATO member, If war broke out, the US would have to send American soldiers to fight, bleed and die on foreign soil--again.