Based on the to-date disastrous performance of the Russian military in Ukraine, I’m rethinking my rethinking of my thinking on Romney’s 2012 characterization of Russia as being America’s “number one geopolitical foe”. He was roundly mocked: after all, Russia’s GDP was smaller than Texas. But then, during the Trump administration, where for a minor investment, Putin managed to select our President and undermine our position in the world, it seemed that Romney was amazingly prescient. Putin’s malice and goals were unlimited and it seems that despite the nation’s lack of financial resources, that he had contemporary tools that rendered our defenses obsolete. But now we observe the Russian invasion has stalled against a much smaller, less armed combatant. So maybe, in one sense, Putin is like the wizard of Oz — projecting awesome power that is all illusion. Russian is not China; it is North Korea with a nuclear arsenal and oil, but with little else of interest to the contemporary world. Its military strength is a mirage.