As usual, you’re picking nits that don’t need to be picked.
Speaking only for myself— I’ve long thought (ie, over the last decade or so) that our current and continuing/advancing state of decline on multiple fronts has made us increasingly susceptible to military attacks from Russia and China.
While I admit that my initial thoughts ran to physical boots/boats combat, I’ve become convinced that that level of intervention likely wouldn’t be necessary in the near term—however, it might become an eventuality as a mode of finalizing the job.