In an article in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, the US-based journal, Keir Lieber of the University of Notre Dame and Daryl Press of the University of Pennsylvania lay out results of calculations according to a model they have developed. They show that the US has developed nuclear capacity sufficient to launch a strike guaranteed to wipe out Russia and China, without the risk of suffering a return strike.
They also provide a detailed explanation for Russian and Chinese leaders of the purpose of America's anti-missile defence system. The system is not about preventing the threat of attack from "rogue" nations, they argue, but rather, about enabling the US dramatically to reduce the risk of a nuclear counter-strike by Russia and China after a nuclear attack by the US.
