Who, what, where, and when?
Conventional wisdom has held that while China may threaten Taiwan or other neighbors, it poses no threat to the United States. That assumption was shattered on January 24, 1996 when the New York Times reported that a Chinese official had told former Ambassador Charles Freeman that China could act militarily against Taiwan without fear of U.S. intervention because American leaders "care more about Los Angeles than they do about Taiwan." This threat to use nuclear missiles against a major American city stands in sharp contrast to the assumptions of the National Intelligence Estimate that China presents no threat to the United States.