Chance,

I really, really, really wish that the Responsible Statecraft assessment, that you mentioned in your letter, is not so.

That scenario is not only very sad, but it is quite frightening.

On the flip side, I have wished that the other assessment, that the US and Russia, are passing themselves off as weakened, is so.

Napoleon successfully used that strategy once.

Or another reference: "Sun Tzu’s advice to “appear weak when you are strong” highlights a core principle of deception: creating a false sense of security in the enemy."