picked out as the most likely targets for us to use. so not a -- more likely to be not a one-shot deal like it was in april but a couple of -- not a sustained attack but a couple of days' worth of attacks. >> colonel jack, one last question for you. and if you do not want to answer this question, you absolutely do not have to and you can just say good night. but i'm wondering when decisions like this are made, obviously this gas attack that these strikes are a response to happened last week. the president said early in the week that the missiles were coming, get ready russia. we've been expecting, you know, here at nbc news, we've been standing by all week long every night thinking about when these things might happen. they have been launched tonight. when these decisions are made about both the goal and the timing, are there considerations given to the perceived motivations of the president? obviously when the united states