atrocities of employing chemical weapons. but also it sends a signal to the fact that the united states is not only in the region but is going to remain in the region. and that you have now the united states in the leading role, certainly over the skies and the battle space of syria but also in the region so that putin will not be able to operate from this point on with his own impunity and own desires to wherever he wants to certainly in syria. pete: colonel, you said if we wanted to we could have taken out their entire air force. do you think part of the reason this was so targeted and proportional because we are not yet at a point where strategically we want to get rid of bashar al assad? >> >> no. i don't think it had to do with decapitation of the assad regime. i think it was specifically on the chemical attack that occurred the day before. i disagree by the way with the general. we're not sending message to