So if Putin chooses to respond in a few days, a week or a month from now your theory is kaput?
“So if Putin chooses to respond in a few days, a week or a month from now your theory is kaput?”
ONLY if he engages US forces directly.
Which he will not do. Certainly not with flagged Russian forces.
A response is not the same as a defense.
You can, and should, actually, make a case that the chemical attack that was supposedly done to precipitate this was not “proved” to be from the Syrians themselves, but that doesn’t mean the strikes were impotent, and the Russians effective.
I do have trouble with the chemical attack happening right after Pres. Trump says we’re pulling out of Syria, and I wish more evidence was shown that the Syrian government did it.