“the saber we once could rattle is down to a tarnished handle and a 3” stub of blade.”
Saber rattling doesn’t work for both sides. That’s why the countries owning nuclear weapons adopted the dissuasive strategy. It worked during the cold war era (1949-1990) and it’s working now. Only irresponsible leaders would brandish it. Who is ready to play Dr.Strangelove’s part?