This is a showdown between Obama and Putin. Putin has the upper hand because Obama and his backers want war but he's alone out on a limb and vulnerable. He has the might and the power to do as he pleases. Will he enter Shakespearean territory and go full tragedy or will he take the hit and risk becoming irrelevant for the rest of his term? No easy way out. Powerful stuff. Horrible for the people on the ground looking up at the sky.
The goal of the US is clear, to get a legally binding trigger that would justify a military attack. Considering how low the credibility of the US is in regard to evidence, such a trigger should be rejected a priory.
We were lucky once with Kennedy, let's not test the other possible outcome.
