Say when
I think they're itching for it.
Who are "they"? I dunno.
Where are they? I dunno.
What the hell do they really want? Who the f*ck knows.
Dammit they are out there. And they're nothing if not committed. Not terrifying, just committed. For them a cruise missile is not a deterrent, it's an invitation. A rallying cry. For them international norms and treaties are to be laughed at. As is the notion of peace and stability.
It's a thorny situation, lord knows. All the options are bad.
That's the breaks. Seriously. Cut-your-losses time.
I see a village on the top of a steep-sided hill. The houses therein exhibit different degrees of strength. Some are made of straw, some of sticks, some of brick. When we, the giant, talk about "intervention-from-a-distance" in that place, I see us in linebacker stance. Poised to give the side of the hill a good crashing hit with our shoulder.
I think the chaos that would follow is something our true enemies very much want to happen.