Now the US Joint Chiefs chairman says he believes Putin will march on into Europe

It has become the view of the moment among the west's top military commanders to pontificate about what Putin will do next, after Ukraine, and all seem to be saying the same thing, that the Russian leader will march his troops on into Nato Europe and chance his arm in, say, Finland or Latvia or Poland. Of course they could all be right. So why do I remain so sceptical about these gloomy predictions? Principally because taking on Ukraine which Russia has totally failed to subjugate, is a helluva lot different from waging war of any kind with Nato, whether it be in Finland or Poland. Putin absolutely knows this. Any overt invasion of Poland, for example, would lead to a catastrophic counter-attack by Nato. Catastrophic for the Russians, that is. Again, Putin knows this, even if on some days he suspects Nato might not invoke Article 5 of the Nato Treaty. He may be building a war economy and producing more missiles and tanks, but he has lost so many in the war in Ukraine that he is desperate to fill the huge gaps in his arsenal. He won't have the ability to take on Nato in a conflict for years to come, probably never, so why on earth would he risk everything by charging around Europe trying to bite into Nato's alliance? It would be a huge mistake. He must know this. Even Trump is not going to turn his back on Poland or the Baltics and leave it to the Europeans. His legacy would be shot to pieces. Nato would stand firm against any Russian moves made against the alliance. So, all you top generals in the US and Europe, stop trying to scare us into believing that Putin is the next Hitler. Calm down the over-the-top rhetoric and stop showing us you're scared of Putin. It will only make him feel considerably taller than he is.