If you really wanted to ‘destroy’ some country....an EMP situation could wipe out power and civilization for months, if not years. If you just targeted California alone...getting back to ‘normal’ would be a five-year crisis, and unleash twenty-million refugees to the remaining 49 states.
I wouldn’t waste a nickel on nukes...I’d develop my entire strategy on EMP weapons/warfare.
I’d use a virus of some sort. Maybe a test virus and see how countries react to it, and then a REAL bad one.
https://www.amazon.com/Second-After-John-Matherson-Novel/dp/0765327252
Scariest book I ever read. The North Koreans, Iranians or rogue Islamist group are capable of a single surreptitious launch off a freighter. The MAD theory no longer keeps us safe. I felt a whole lot safer with Trump.
Unlike wars past, Americans would be wise to prepare for war on our soil. The days of war on distant lands is pretty much over.
When the next world war comes, and it will come, Americans should know there will likely be American casualties on American soil.
The stage is being set. When is anyone’s guess, but geopolitical events around the world are shaping up for a power shift from American dominance to ???. Probably China.