How effective is America’s deterrence?

A very good overview of the problem. Being strong enough to devastate an enemy is not the key. Being seen as willing to devastate said enemy is actual deterrence. The lives of millions in our urban areas depends on these types of perceptions, and the problem will probably only get worse in the future. Good article, thanks.

A lot of critical test facilities were mothballed in the mid 90's, with some critical engineers and technicians retiring, and others scattered to other facilities, eliminating the possibility of reactivating those facilities. It was a very poor strategy...

Damn fine article. As the article observes, deterrence is more about a potential adversaries perception of our strength and our intentions than even the size and number of our missiles. Everyone shook with fear when Ronald Reagan entered the Oval Office. There were many in America who feared that he would shoot first and ask questions later. Then, came Donald Trump, and at the end Pelosi was hot footing to the Pentagon to make sure they wouldn't allow him to launch the missiles. Imagine how our enemies felt. And yet, here we are. Once again with the finger of a President of questionable character on the button. Now it's my turn to fear...