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There were 25,000 Soviet strategic missiles, targeted at the US during the Cold War. Today, there are fewer then 7,000 and that will soon be down to 1700-2200. The Red Chinese have anywhere from 18 to 50 missiles that could reach California. May be. The British and the French have no reason to attack us with nuclear weapons. Just who should America be afraid of? Korea? India? Pakistan? Iraq? Iran? These countries don't have strategic capabilities that could reach the US. I doubt a rogue nation or terrorist group could get their hands on an ICBM. May be a tactical nuke, may be a dirty bomb, but not a strategic WMD.

Your statements here on the nuclear threat go way beyond the realm of mere ignorance. First of all you seem not to know the difference between missiles and warheads. The Russians NEVER had 25,000 missiles pointed at the US and they most certainly do not have 7000 today. In fact, they never had more than 2000-2300 strategic missiles even at the height of the Cold War. Today, they have 40,000 nuclear warheads, but only about 1500 strategic missiles according to Jane's Defense Weekly with at least 6000 of those warheads being strategic. The US on the other hand has only 932 strategic missiles including 432 Trident I and II SLBMs and 500 obselescent Minuteman III ICBMs and a total of about 6000 strategic warheads. The Moscow Treaty does not limit the number of launchers or missiles on either side. It only limits the number of deployed strategic warheads to 2200 on ONE SINGLE DAY--December 31, 2012. So the Russians could have 6000-7000 strategic warheads deployed on December 30, 2012 download their MIRV'd missiles down to 2200 on the 31st and upload them back to 6000-7000 on January 1st, 2013 and still be in full compliance with the treaty. Since this treaty has no real verification provisions, I doubt they will even do that.

Since the treaty does not prevent them from MIRVing any of their missiles and does not require them to destroy ONE SINGLE WARHEAD OR MISSILE, it is doubtful that they will downsize their arsenal at all in the next 10-15 years beyond replacing thousands of old warheads with new ones as they have been doing for the past decade. The US on the other hand plans to destroy the bulk of its deactivated warheads and keep some in reserve to deploy several months after a crisis breaks out. ChiCom missiles can hit virtually the entire continental US as can the North Korean Taepodong II according to CIA estimates. According to a recent offhand remark by a Russian lieutenant general reported in geostrategydirect.com, the Iranians already possess a small quantity of weaponized tactical nuclear warheads, but no ICBMs only Shahab III IRBMs. Shahab V will be an ICBM with a 6000 mile range. It is due to be deployed within the decade according to CIA.

>>>Your statements here on the nuclear threat go way beyond the realm of mere ignorance. First of all you seem not to know the difference between missiles and warheads.

You're right of course, my error. Thanks for the correction. No ignorance though, just a brain fart. I should have used the term warheads and not missiles in my discription and did the research for the actual figures. Your other points are well taken. If the figures I used were off, no harm was intended. My point was, to show the reductions, in the Russian's overall strategic strike capability, since the Cold War ended.

I was responding to this remark, "The fact is that the strategic threat to the US is greater than any time during the cold war".

The strategic nuclear threat to the US, is much lower today, then it was during the high points of the Cold War.