Now, that's an interesting take - limited nuclear strike against US military without retaliation. I don't know, Outsider, whether Putin would try that, just to see what the response would be. Nuking the Nimitz, the flagship of the US Sixth Fleet in the Med, would certainly be provocative since that ship has 5000 men and women on board.  The USS Eisenhower just recently joined the Med fleet. There is now a swarm of FA-18 interceptors near Syria. Putin will blink, since he's not a fool.