The U.S. is not being played like a fool. The U.S. actually started the game against everyone else's wishes, thinking it is a easy game to win and expects to profit greatly from and the anticipated victory. But subsequently the U.S. has been playing the game like a fool, and is being trounced by the unwilling and supposedly weak russia which the U.S. didn't think stood a chance.
The U.S. thought it's hand was a royal flush, everyone else had no hand, and no one else could possible know better than the U.S. how to play this game. It turns out Russia's hand was much stronger than the U.S. knew, and Putin knew how to play the game much better than the U.S.. All the sanctions are just a face saving disguise meant to obscure the fact that the U.S. lost a game it thought it would win handily, and had no idea how to deal with contingency at all.
The U.S. thought it's hand was a royal flush, everyone else had no hand, and no one else could possible know better than the U.S. how to play this game. It turns out Russia's hand was much stronger than the U.S. knew, and Putin knew how to play the game much better than the U.S.. All the sanctions are just a face saving disguise meant to obscure the fact that the U.S. lost a game it thought it would win handily, and had no idea how to deal with contingency at all.
