On the other hand, the probability of a full-blown nuclear exchange (US v. Russia, US v. China) is profoundly lower than any time since the early 1950s. If Elder McConkie had lived long enough to see the fall of the Berlin wall, the freeing of Soviet-occupied eastern Europe, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he may well have reconsidered or modified his statement.

Mr. Freeborn’s prophecies that there will be widespread rioting over Obama’s election between now and his inauguration, and that this is turn will lead Russia to make a preemptive nuclear strike on the US makes no sense whatsoever, including (a) the riots and (b) that Russian leadership would collectively cause their nation’s extinction (hint: our nuclear weapons are in a lot better shape than theirs, and our missiles will actually launch).

Nuclear proliferation and terrorist/rogue state use of nukes is the real strategic concern these days. We may yet see a nuclear bomb explode on US soil, but it’s likely to be one relatively low-yield bomb smuggled in by a terrorist group, not a few thousand multi-megaton Soviet warheads arriving almost simultaneously. It’s the difference between “The Day After” and “The Sum of All Fears” (the original novel). ..bruce..