ou seem to be speaking of things that fall in that grey area between what's done by individual or group command structures and the political powers/top military command structures that determine overall strategy.

Yeah, I'd say that's true.

I think we can agree that Putin's the kind of dangerous that Kissinger always was, that Bush was, that too many policy-makers in the First World have been.

100%. Terrifying. Especially since, as you alluded to, he's less accountable to anybody else and that's only got more and more true.