According to Russian war doctrine, this attack, of which President Trump says he was unaware, requires a Russian strategic response. Putin, being a humane and reasonable person averse to war , side-stepped the issue by declaring the attack to be an act of terrorism and not of war.  It is extraordinary that no one is interested in identifying who so irresponsibly green-lighted  an attack that could have initiated nuclear war.  

How can Washington and the Kremlin be so insouciant and uninterested in a provocation that could have resulted in nuclear war? Whoever green-lighted the attack did not know that Putin would simply not acknowledge that such an attack took place.  Whoever green-lighted the attack was OK with launching a nuclear war. What is to prevent such a thing again happening?

We must be thankful that Putin side-stepped the issue.  But we must also consider the effect of Putin's side-stepping the attack. The person or agency that authorized the attack must be confident that Russia will never respond to any provocation, and, therefore, the provocations will increase in their intensity.  At some point, it won't be possible for Putin to side-step the provocation. Thus, Putin might be bringing on the war he hopes to avoid by side-stepping provocations.

In addition to the conflict with Russia, there is the conflict with Iran.  Netanyahu, using the powerful influence of the Israel Lobby over Washington, pressured President Trump to bomb Iran's uranium enrichment sites, claiming without evidence that Iran was producing a nuclear weapon.

Trump in what might be an act of brilliance dropped the bombs on the Iranian sites and declared them obliterated whether they were or not, thereby removing Netanyahu's only argument for war with Iran.  With the nuclear facilities destroyed, there can be no bomb.  Thus, Trump removed Netanyahu's case for preemptive war against Iran, thereby removing the reason for wider conflict in the Middle East.  Let's hope Iran understands what has really happened, and cooperates with President Trump in removing the conflict from the agenda.