[Mountain_Skies]

'Would, should, could' isn't useful in Realpolitik. We're going to 'would, should, could' right into the very situation we claim to want to avoid. Gorbachev is correct, we're arrogant, believing we can make the world conform to our desires simply because they are our desires. It doesn't matter if Russia is right or wrong. It matters what Russia is going to do, both on their own and in reaction to what we do. The Ukraine mess is avoidable but we're arrogant and think we are right therefore reality will bend to our desire. This is extremely dangerous thinking, especially when dealing with nuclear powers.