Originally Posted by
westernhero
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Putin does not even go that far, all he has to do is go on TV and state his intentions if his men get killed and just watch what happens to May.....
To avoid over-quoting I am not copying all your post here, but everything you wrote looks perfectly right.
Regarding Putin, in spite of tons of reservations I have about having that man in charge of the country, I have to admit that he does have some patience. Or people in his crowd have it and influence him. IMHO, this is why he does not go on TV: everything was said by the generals and he does not want to escalate further.
In particular: if the missiles/bombs fly towards the spots where the Russian personnel is located, Russia will respond. Not just attempting to intercept the missiles, but also shoot at its carriers. IMHO planes and ships are such carriers, not the base in Cyprus if UK forces are considered.
I think negotiations are now taking place between US and Russia concerning the list of targets. Russia is likely to agree that some Syrian facilities may be destroyed (like a year ago) and they will not use their AD complexes, leaving the issue to the Syrians and their obsolete SAMs. US obviously want a very long list of such targets.
If so, the situation will remain in the same status: very hot, but still not crossing the red button line.