It sounds like something I’d expect to see on The Onion, but this is apparently true. The Pentagon spends around $300,000 per year studying the body language of Vladimir Putin and other world leaders. Seriously. Next I’ll be expecting to read that they’re paying someone to do handwriting analysis and palm reading.

National Journal – The Defense Department is spending about $300,000 a year studying the body language of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders, Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said Friday.

The findings haven’t been used to help decipher the close-to-the-vest Russian leader during the ongoing tensions over Ukraine, Kirby said. “The reports are given right to the Office of Net Assessment, and as I understand it, that is where they stay,” he said.

Kirby didn’t know who specifically had seen the reports but said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hasn’t read the studies. “I can tell you for sure that […] → Keep reading