...faux diplomacy than of actual practice. I have no doubt that the U.S. military/CIA have at least discussed the potential of removing other leaders even after doing so became officially "against the rules". I'm sure if it really came down to it, the U.S. could at the very least pull off an attempt without anyone ever realizing that the U.S. was behind the whole thing. They'd find someone on the "inside" who could appear to act as a lone wolf, and if it failed, that person would probably realize they were on an island and had absolutely no public backing whatsoever.

But that's beside the point - I'm not suggesting that Putin deserves any sort of protection by this rule. I'm not even suggesting that the U.S. shouldn't be exploring how to make that happen. I'm just saying that people who have influence, and particularly a sitting U.S. senator, should not be calling for Putin's assassination on TV or on the internet. That's just reckless, in my opinion. That opinion has nothing to do with following rules...I just think it's common sense to not needlessly provoke an enemy who may already have his finger on a very destructive button. Catch the guy by surprise, instead.