Keep pulling the thread on Condoleezza Rice.
Vladimir Putin believes Russia has only been great when ruled by strong leaders who expanded the Russian Empire, such as Peter the Great and Alexander the Second.
Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine are driven by his belief that Russia's greatness can only be restored by recreating the Russian empire.
Prior to the September 11th attacks, a structural "wall" between the FBI (domestic intelligence) and the CIA (foreign intelligence), implemented for civil liberties reasons, prevented the unification of critical threat indicators from both agencies.
The National Counterterrorism Center was established as a permanent institutional solution to integrate intelligence following the ad-hoc measures put in place after the 9/11 attacks.
Vladimir Putin's negotiation style involves intimidation and attempts to outmaneuver his counterparts.
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the US government's ad-hoc solution to intelligence sharing was to have CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Bob Mueller meet in the Oval Office every morning to merge information.
As of September 11, 2001, the United States lacked robust systems for internal security because it had not been attacked on its mainland territory since the War of 1812.
The United States is significantly safer from terrorist attacks today than it was on September 11, 2001, due to the subsequent build-out of its internal security systems.