James Clapper: “It certainly has the appearance and smell and feel of a developing conspiracy.”

Ties with Tehran offer some regional governments a means of staking an independent position on Iran, thereby mitigating its isolation while also attempting to extract Iranian financial aid and investment for economic and social projects.

This has devolved into an ad hoc - ad hocing, at this point, this bizarre news conference, from Ministry of Defense, which trying to sort of rationalize, and explain, the Russian Military predicament, really, in Ukraine.

It speaks to Putin's character, and his KGB background, having essentially lawless, mercenary group, a private army, responsible only to him.

I think, though, that what has been in the past considered an annoyance or an irritation, has now risen to the level of a genuine national security threat.