For many decades the US and Russia had a "no first use policy" on using nuclear missiles or dropping nuclear bombs. They both changed that policy in the past few years so they CAN use nukes first if they "feel" threatened. China has not officially changed their no first use policy, but many experts in the field question their commitment to that policy because there are well known exceptions that exist. In today's political climate nations have to assume a nuclear power could launch a first strike at any time. It is known that whoever makes a first strike has a huge advantage and can knock out the majority of enemy nuclear missiles before they can even launch them. This precarious situation has raised the possibility of a nuclear war. In addition to that, it is highly possible if there was a war between the US and any "one" of the three adversaries - China, Russia, or North Korea - that if one is attacked the other two will join forces and also attack the US. That would mean the US would have to target all three country's aircraft, missiles, subs with missiles and battleships with missiles. I'm sure the US military has planned for that possibility and have had exercises to deal with that scenario. But, it would rise the risk of a nuke getting through our defenses. In addition to that, the US has thousands of miles of coastlines where an enemy ship or sub can launch boats to land on a remote coastline and carry a nuke inland for detonation. (Not to mention the fact that nuclear bombs may have already been pre-placed in some cities) China has also developed shipping containers that can be easily shipped into a port and then launch a short or medium range nuclear missile, or detonate it at a port city. This all means that the US could lose some cities to nuclear destruction by unconventional delivery methods. To add to the confusion, if a nuke goes off first in the US, how would we know which country made the attack or was it radical Muslim terrorists? All of those possibilities raise the risk of the US losing at least one city to a nuclear bomb. The US citizen is not prepared for that kind of shock, however after being quarantined in their homes for months, Americans are more prepared for such an event than before the virus outbreak. The Chinese virus outbreak has set the world on edge and politicians are walking a tight rope walk now more than ever - even worse than during the Cuban missile crisis. When a person considers the several major hot spots that could break out in war at anytime, it increases the possibility of a military confrontation that would quickly escalate into a nuclear war. For this reason, at this time, Americans must be on a higher alert status for a nuclear war hitting the US mainland. George Eaton