It is possible that they genuinely thought that Putin was bluffing. But that would be further evidence for the historically very poor predictive abilities of the Neocons, at least if you compare their public statements…
I think there is no passive voice. If you prefer to replace "Then it did happen" with "Russia attacked", that is of course fine. But after Russia attacked there were several Neocon interviews where they acted surprised…
It is possible that they genuinely thought that Putin was bluffing. But that would be further evidence for the historically very poor predictive abilities of the Neocons, at least if you compare their public statements…
I think there is no passive voice. If you prefer to replace "Then it did happen" with "Russia attacked", that is of course fine. But after Russia attacked there were several Neocon interviews where they acted surprised…