Gates, could have dodged the question, the fact of answering it, is in itself meaningful. Use of US military force, does not mean shooting at Russia. Patrolling a NATO-mandated no-fly zone over Georgia is also a form of “using US military force”.

If we were to discount all the talking done by US, and only consider actions, then besides sending humanitarian aid, which does not differentiate US from Poland all that much. Speaking of Poland, US did reach an agreement there, but it was bound to happen anyway, regardless of the invasion, so it cannot be considered an appropriate punishment.