[Hoot Gibson]

No question. It does none the less escape me as to how blazingly obvious existential threats are allowed to grow right under the noses of those who are threatened. Not only did we allow kim jong to go nuclear, we chose for the most part to try to ignore it. As recently as last year we were told that N Korea would be fumbling around trying to make a rocket work for the foreseeable future. No ICBM, no bomb delivery. As a matter of fact that very topic was discussed on this forum. And then there is Russia, though owing to sage foreign policy and the resultant financial collapse of the USSR, Reagan actually saw the fulfillment of his challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev come true, as a scant 2 years later demolition was begun on the Berlin Wall. Russia today remains a viable threat to the United States.

So let's recap those who would likely side against the US in armed conflict. The afore mentioned N Korea and Russia, China, and then there is the Arab World led by a newly reinvigorated and soon to be nuclear Iran. Added to that notable list one might well include Venezuela and Cuba.

I believe it was in the third Pink Panther movie, that Inspector Clouseau (who at that time was walking a beat) actually stopped sidewalk traffic to allow a speedier egress for some escaping bank robbers rushing to get to their getaway car. Anyone else remember that scene? That is who Sec Lurch reminds me of. The US is actually running interference for Iran to become nuclear. Reportedly, we've actually warned Israel not to try to use military force against Iranian nuclear facilities on pain of retaliation of some sort. The intelligence community is predicting an active nuclear arms race for the Middle East with the Saudis being the most likely candidate next in line to join the nuclear club.

Zechariah 14:11-12 (KJV)
V12 "And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth."

I cannot truthfully state that the 'plague' mentioned above is the familiar plight of those who are caught too close to ground zero of a nuclear explosion. But some notable Bible scholars believe the 'plague' will happen at or near the end of the Great Tribulation. At any rate, it is hard to imagine WW3 happening without nuclear confrontation. And the way I understand it, people standing on their feet in 8,000 degree heat would burn up instantaneously. In case you're wondering, these are the nations possessing a nuclear arsenal. United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, China, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Israel, and maybe Iran?

^I am also very concerned that multiple existential threats have not only been allowed to grow on Obama's "watch," but have received assists from Obama, Hillary, Lurch, et al.

If what I have read about EMPs is accurate, it would not take a large nuclear stockpile to destroy human life as we know it in this country. I have not seen the estimates on the number, size, and altitude of hydrogen bombs detonated above the U.S. that would be necessary to completely destroy our power grid, computers, and most mechanized transportation (because of the reliance on electronics) in this country, but I suspect a handful of bombs detonated at a high altitude would result in mass starvation within a few weeks.

For a country like China, which is overpopulated and has a toxic atmosphere in much of the country, EMPs would be an ideal way to attack us. China has created its own internal existential threats and I don't think that its leaders would hesitate to destroy U.S. civilization in exchange for de-populated land with an existing infrastructure. The disappearance of its largest trading partner might lead to the starvation of millions of China's citizens, but that event is not without precedent.

If we survive one more year and elect the right candidate to office, we will have a good shot at staving off destruction. We cannot afford to make a mistake in the 2016 election. Bernie and Hillary Clinton are existential threats. Hopefully, there are enough career law enforcement people left in the FBI to sink Hillary's campaign. If Bernie is electable, then maybe we deserve the fate that awaits us as a country.