Suddenly, a Stiff Test in Ukraine

A CIA Cold Warrior Worries About the West's Resolve

Vladimir Putin tells a story about  trapping a rat in the corner of his parent’s apartment kitchen as a kid in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. Just when he thought he had it caught, it leapt over his back and scampered away at full speed. 

As an old spy, I am always searching for little autobiographical statements that betray larger motives. The kitchen e…