a 10 year affair that led to the rise of Al Qaeda and eventually 9/11... yeah, let's choose that path.

also wouldn't get there because we're not dealing with the USSR, everyone needs Russian natural resources, Beijing and Moscow are now aligned, the entire Global South isn't participating in sanctions, the US isn't nearly as strong as it thinks it is, the dollar is losing ground, and the EU is about to have 15% inflation and an extreme energy crisis... so yeah, again, let's not choose the decades-long war option