You can read this the other way. Russia is so inferior to the US that something like the downing of a drone does not necessitate a response. If it's clear that

You can read this the other way. Russia is so inferior to the US that something like the downing of a drone does not necessitate a response. If it's clear that you can and will act when and where you want, then responding to the bellicose actions of a lesser advisary is ... beneath you.