Is Vladimir Putin Beating the Drums of War?

“If you have a pistol hanging on the wall in the first act, it should be fired in the second.” — Anton Chekov

All around the world, the same song has been playing since the dawn of human civilization. Since humankind abandoned the tree tops to wander upright, then abandoned foraging for farms, then farms for towns and towns for cities, the same song has set the tune and history has danced.