“In Russia, as in other countries, successful, short military operations generate massive support. It demonstrated to the U.S. that it had the ability and will to intrude into places that the U.S. regards as within its area of operations. It changed the perception of Russia as a declining power to a significant global force. Whether this was true was less important – it needed to appear to be true. And it cannot be denied that there was truth to it.”
The Geopolitics of the American President