[Goose]

"It's always smarter to go all-in on an objective you want to achieve, rather than pussyfoot around with half-measures that prolong achieving it and maybe even prevent achieving it. - OF "

Sounds like the quick road to World War 3 to me.  Perhaps you don't mean this as your a one-size-fits-all response.  I hope not.  

Not every confrontation, including the military variety, need an all-in armed response by the US Armed Forces.  If measured responses are out then both sides will play the brinksmanship game and sooner or later my kids and grand-kids are drafted for war in Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, or China.  No thank you.  Spend our military blood sparingly please and I am FINE with taking some time to decide if any particular confrontation is the right moment for NATO boots on the ground.

This conundrum is as old as time, and nobody has really "solved" it. There are plenty of examples of both cases, instances where one combatant waited too long to take action and was destroyed and other instances where one combatant rushed full speed ahead into a disaster. After action analysis often suggest that following the opposite course would have had a better result. Of course, that can't be known. The result might have been even worse.
In Ukraine, it is impossible to know what action the US or NATO might take that will push Russia "over the edge" and into a bigger war. OTOH, we don't know how much Ukraine can "take" and when will they falter. Difficult choices.

[Goose]

"It's always smarter to go all-in on an objective you want to achieve, rather than pussyfoot around with half-measures that prolong achieving it and maybe even prevent achieving it. - OF "

Sounds like the quick road to World War 3 to me.  Perhaps you don't mean this as your a one-size-fits-all response.  I hope not.  

Not every confrontation, including the military variety, need an all-in armed response by the US Armed Forces.  If measured responses are out then both sides will play the brinksmanship game and sooner or later my kids and grand-kids are drafted for war in Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, or China.  No thank you.  Spend our military blood sparingly please and I am FINE with taking some time to decide if any particular confrontation is the right moment for NATO boots on the ground.

This conundrum is as old as time, and nobody has really "solved" it. There are plenty of examples of both cases, instances where one combatant waited too long to take action and was destroyed and other instances where one combatant rushed full speed ahead into a disaster. After action analysis often suggest that following the opposite course would have had a better result. Of course, that can't be known. The result might have been even worse.
In Ukraine, it is impossible to know what action the US or NATO might take that will push Russia "over the edge" and into a bigger war. OTOH, we don't know how much Ukraine can "take" and when will they falter. Difficult choices.