The dichotomy drawn between Damon and Massengale is necessary, but insufficient. It reminds me of another incomplete dichotomy: John Boyd’s “to be or to do.”
President Putin made three foundational assumptions in launching his war against Ukraine that should have been correct but were not. First, Putin assumed the invasion of Ukraine would be a quick and easy fight. Second, he assumed the world would denounce the invasion but tacitly allow it. Third, Putin assumed the war would deter NATO expansion.
