[PA Engineer]

What if the launch point is a ratty old just-scuttled boat in the middle of the ocean?

Good point. People forget Iran has been working on this capability since 1998.

The reports, which are well-known to the White House but have not been disseminated to the appropriate congressional committees, detailed the test-firing by Iran of a short-range surface-to-surface missile last spring from a barge in the Caspian Sea.

[driftdiver]

They no longer need boats, they are building launch sites in Venezuela thanks to Chavez. With their current missiles they can reach the eastern half of the US with a 1 ton payload.