Your thoughts on a pre-emptive strike.

US set a precedent for its own destruction...only a matter of time before the world realizes the us is a greater threat at the national level than any other nation and decides to preemptively defang the US

I still think the whole MAD thing is a powerful deterrent. Most countries governments have proven throughout history that they are willing to do really stupid things without thinking things through. This is why I think we are safe to a degree.

At the end of the day, there are only 2 countries with the capacity to really damage a country heavily. The US and Russia.