Putin tried to be an ally of the West after 9/11. I’d have to try and remember which book I read it in, or maybe it was an interview, but he approached Bush and said something to the effect of, we both have an issue with Islamic terrorism ( The Russian invasion of chechnya and resulting blowback, and the United States’ support of wahhabism to combat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan).
The problem is is that America couldn’t get past the concept of Russia still being the adversary. Even after the end of the Cold War and Russia’s transformation into a capitalist hellscape.
There was a great deal of time where there could have been an opportunity to normalize relations with Russia, but groups within the American security apparatus were vehemently opposed to that.
I think that is absolutely their calculation. I strongly disagree with their conclusion but it is what it is