Putin's initial thrust into Ukraine stalled out north of Kyiv last month and his "Phase II" Donbas fight has thus far made limited progress. Sensing Moscow's vulnerability, there is a desire in the United States to take increasingly proactive measures against Russia to increase the chances that Ukraine eventually wins the war.

Trying to accomplish that praiseworthy goal in a careless way, however, could not only diminish Kyiv's chances of winning, it might also expand the war into a Russia-U.S. conflict that could get Americans killed. Any war between Washington and Moscow stands a disturbingly high chance of going nuclear; an outcome that must be avoided at all costs.

On Sunday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger told CBS's Face the Nation that he intended to propose a new authorization for the use of military force that would enable the president to take action against Russia if Putin's forces used weapons of mass destruction.