If those barefoot peasants have five functional warheads from submarine ICBMs, I think the situation is comparable to the USSR having similar weapons aimed at us from Cuba.
I don't know what the range of the Soviet rockets was. Maybe they could reach the entire continental US, maybe not, I don't know. I do know that if the talibastards have five warheads, they can pick whatever locations they want. NYC, LA, DC, Chicago, SF, there's five targets we don't want to lose. Maybe they'll trade one for Boston. They seem to have a lot of "doings" there. I doubt they'll hit Detroit, there are too many Arabs there, it's probably safe. What about Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, hell, the US is chock full of targets. If they have backpack/suitcase nukes, they can hit more than five cities.
That's presuming the poster I referenced above is accurate. I looked at his posting history -- he's been a freeper for a year, he looks credible. His story is not a "UL-like" type of "friend of a friend's cousin's uncle's hairdresser's boyfriend's neighbor's dog". It's direct, it's concise, and it's not "similar to a thousand other stories floating around."
I did not think about it that much until that news item came across from Fox. I do not discount the information. If the gov't -- which since 9/11 has if anything been downplaying the danger -- is now comparing the risk to the Cuban missile crisis, then you bet my radar's going up. Along with the hairs on the back of my neck.
I do agree with your sentiments regarding our seemingly weak, PC response to the enemy. I think it goes beyond disgraceful when we take into consideration whether or not we might "offend" the bastards. If I was in charge there would be a major parking lot surplus on their real estate market.
That said, no amount of "attitude" on our part will be able to address the damage they can do if they've deployed several nuclear weapons in our homeland.
If they have, we are going to be facing a rough road ahead. Unless we can find them and prevent them from going off, we're running a real good chance for a "The Postman" scenario. And I gotta say, that isn't anything that's been on my list of "things I'd like to see before I die".
Whatever happens, we have to be merciless in our war against these enemies. We also have to acknowledge the risk we face here at home. IMO that's all the more reason to wipe them off the face of the earth ASAP. If we don't, we're sending a message to every renegade "nation" that it's safe to hit us where it hurts.